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WILL THEEE BE ¥AR? 



ANALYSIS OF THE ELEMENTS 

WHICH CONSTITUTE, RESPECTIVELY, THE 

Potver of England and tbe United States. 



RESULT, AND CONSEQUENCES 

OF AN 

OBSTIMTE WAR BETWEEN THE TWO COimTRIES. 

CURSORY REMARKS 

ON THE 

Tone and Tactics of the British Organs in America. 

STEICTURES ON THE ASHBURTON TREATY. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POSSIBLE EMERGENCY, THAT WOULD, INEVITABLY, BE 

THE CAUSE OF WAR. 

COMMENTS ON THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. 

'' j^ THE PROPER COURSE TO SECURE, PEACEABLY, 

THE WHOLE OF THE OREGON. 

ETC., ETC., ETC. 



BY AN ADOPTED CITIZEN. 
NEW YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM TAYLOR, NO. 2 ASTOR HOUSE, PRICE, 25 CENTS. 



FEBRUARY — 1846. 






jO-iP) 



SUMMARY. 



PAGES. 

Introduction 7 to 8 

Tone and Tactics of the British Organs in America, and of 
the Whig Presses in the Atlantic cities, on the subject of 
War and Oregon, agreeing on this point, that England is 
clearly right, and the President wilfully wrong 9 to 10 

The British Organs backed by the Whig leaders will not suc- 
ceed in misleading public opinion 9 

Republican America stands no chance for a fair arbitrament 

in Europe 9 

False predictions of the organs of British interests, and of the 

Whig presses 10 

The course of the President on the subject of our foreign re- 
lations will be sustained by the people 10 

Will there be War ? 10 to 38 

The contexture of our Institutions is pre-eminently opposed 

to aggressive War 11 

Analysis of the elements which constitute the power of 

England 11 to 14 

Analysis of the principles which give impulse to the Govern- 
mental strength of Great Britain 13 to 14 

Elaborate examination of the injury that England might in- 
flict to the United States 15 to 17 

Analysis of the elements which constitute the power of the 

United States 15 to 17 

Analysis of the principles which impart strength to the 

American Confederacy 17 to 18 

Result, and consequences of a protracted War between En- 
gland and the United States 18 

Disquisition on the Ashburton Treaty 19 to 22 

Formidable organization and threatening attitude of Great 

Britain in North America, since the Treaty 19 to 20 

Reasons, accounting for the silence of the American press on 
the disgraceful cession of a passage through the State of 
Maine 21 to 22 

How Great Britain, by sending over a proper man, obtained 
the passage she had been so long coveting. (See note J.) . . 21 to 23 



Summary. 

PAGES. 

Explanation of the circumstances which enabled the American 

negociator to buy the consent of Maine 23 to 24 

Strictures on the course of the Senate in ratifying the Ash- 
burton treaty r 23 to 24 

Mr. Calhoun and some southern senators voted for the treaty 

through sectional feeling 25 

The passage in Congress of the Oregon resolutions will not 

produce War 25 

Development of an emergency which would be the cause of 

hostilities within two or three years 25 to 26 

Effect of the President's Message in the United States, — it 

has silenced for a while the opponents of the Administration 26 to 27 

Investigation of its probable effect in Europe 27 to 35 

The rebuke of the President to the French Government will 

increase in our favour the sympathies of the French people 27 to 30 

Remarks of the Organ of M. Guizot in this city, who 
threatens the President with " vigourous reprisals," from 
his patron 28 

Foul abuse from M. Guizot 's organ on Gen. Cass, for having 

approved of the President's rebuke, &c 28 

Various comments on the tone of the French papers under the 

controul of Louis Philippe and of his ministers 28 to 30 

The threats of the British Aristocracy on the subject of 
Oregon in April, 1845, were a mere theatrical demonstration 
to insulate the President : true causes which prompted 
those threats 30 to 32 

Quotations from the ' London Standard,' giving an insight into 

the consistency, &c., of the British Aristocracy 32 to 33 

Good joke told by Lord Ashburton concerning the proper man 

to settle the north-eastern boundar3^ (Note *) 33 

Quotations from the President's message having reference to 
Oregon, international law, and foreign interference on this 
continent 33 to 34 

The message takes officially the same ground that had been 

taken in the Inaugural, by expressing then — an opinion., . . 34 

The message, although the most offensive to the views of 
British statesmen that has been issued, will have a peaceful 
tendency in England ; the reasons why 34 to 35 

The threats of the British Aristocracy will be hushed, and 
will give way, for the present, to procrastination, bribery, 
and intrigues of all kinds 35 

The opponents of the President are covertly at work 35 



Su7nmary. 

PAGES. 

Mr. Calhoun, under cover of defending the course of the Pre- 
sident, takes strong ground in opposing his most impor- 
tant measures 36 

Conclusions on the question " Will there be War ?" 38 

The proper course to secure, peaceably, the whole of Oregon 38 to 40 

Synopsis of four decisive, but conciliatory measures, vrhich 

will give us, in time, the whole of Oregon 38 to 39 

What is not proper for the President to propose, can effectually 

be done by a two-thirds' majority in Congress 39 

The offer for compromise made by the President last summer 

was eminently judicious 40 

No compromise can be made as to our right for the exclusive 

navigation of the Columbia river 40 

It can be allowed to merchant vessels in pursuance of free 

trade principles 40 

Resignation of the Peel Ministry, &c 40 to 43 

Illustration of the devices used by the British Aristocracy 

whenever a change of measures becomes necessary. . . ^. . . 41 to 42 

Classification of a majority of the American press in the At- 
lantic cities 42 to 43 

Queries submitted to their consideration 43 

Divergence of opinions and erratic views of the leading mem- 
bers of the Senate deprecated 43 

Hope entertained that a majority of Senators of both parties 
will set aside sectional views and party spirit, when voting, 
finally, on the Oregon resolutions 44 

Synopsis of the consequences thai; would ensue if the Oregon 
measures recommended by the President were to be de- 
feated in the Senate 44 

Unanimity in our conncils, the most potent weapon wielded by 
Congress , , 44 



INTRODUCTION. 



L\ the fall of the year 1843, I went over to Europe with my family, 
for the purpose of travelling, particularly in France, which is my native 
country. While in Paris, where I resided nearly twelve months, I was 
grieved to see that the tone of the French press had become altogether 
unfriendly to this country, and I noticed that the daily abuse lavished by 
the English press on the people, and on the institutions of the United 
States, was promptly echoed by the Parisian papers. The organ of the 
French Government, the Journal des Debats, was particularly remark- 
able for its systematic, insidious, malignant, and persevering efforts to 
traduce and villify the American character ; and in December, 1844, the 
virulence of the ministerial paper became so outrageous, that I made up 
my mind to expose publicly, in a daily paper, the utter falsity of its 
calumnious aspersions. I found, that it was not an easy matter to get 
my articles inserted, in extenso, in the daily journals, some of them, such 
as the Siecle^ the Commerce, and the Conslitutionel, gave only the spirit 
of my manuscripts ; the National inserted one or two articles : but it 
was only in La Reforme that my views on American affairs appeared 
without mutilation ; they formed a connected series of articles pub- 
lished over the signature of " Un Citoyen des Elats Unis ;" and, in course 
of time, they were republished in two pamphlets ; and although my 
arguments did not prevent the French Government from interfering in the 
affair of Texas, it exposed, publicly, intrigues which had been kept 
in the dark, and a change in the tone of the Parisian press, except in the 
organs of the French Government, became, at that time, easily percept- 
ible : that change was entirely in favour of the United States. 

On my return to my adopted country, I found that considerable ex- 
citement existed as to the uncertainty of our relations with England ; it 
appeared to me, that the press was generally at fault as to the proper 
course to follow, in order, on the one hand, to secure peace, and, at the 
same time, on the other, to sustain and vindicate with becoming spirit 
our national rights. I felt convinced that such a course could be pointed 
out ; and, moreover, that the propriety and efficiency thereof could be sup- 
ported by uncontrovertible facts and arguments. The task, at the pre- 
sent time, was personally inconvenient ; I have, however, undertaken to 
do it in the following pages : — the hesitation and the conflicting views 
which appear to prevail in Congress on the subject of our foreign rela- 
tions, have led me into the belief, that the measures which I propose, 
under a firm conviction of their efficacy, may not be untimely. 



Introduction. 

The first article of this pamphlet, headed " War and Oregon," was 
published in the Daily Globe of the 15th of November ;* it is a brief 
exposition of the whole subject. Eight other articles appeared success- 
ively in the same paper, and in reading them the reader ought to bear 
in mind the date of the publication, as it shows strikingly the general 
inconsistency of the press, at the same time that it tests the correctness 
of the views expressed in said articles. To illustrate my meaning, I will 
merely point out one instance relative to the inconsistency of the press. 
As early as the beginning of November, the influential papers of this city 
were nearly unanimous in daily abusing the President on account of his 
stand on the subject of Oregon. The burst of popular approbation which 
greeted the Message of Mr. Polk, bore too strongly the stamp of public 
opinion to be misunderstood, and the editors of those papers shifted their 
ground at once ; many of them even went so far as to express themselves 
satisfied with confiding the care of our foreign relations to the prudence 
of an Executive, whom, only a few days previously, they were villifying 
at a great rate. By degrees, however, they have broke ground ou 
another course ; they do not abuse the administration — they rather 
flatter it ; but they are covertly at work, and try what they can to defeat 
the measures recommended by the President, by urging delay, &c. Well, 
the series of articles contained in this pamphlet takes a space of time 
of about two months, and forms a kind of political record of the events 
which have occurred within that period: and, as I stated at the outset, it 
will be well to bear in mind the date of each article at the time it is read. 

In conclusion, I call the attention of the reader, in a special manner, 
to that part of the pamphlet which contains the " Analysis of the Ele- 
ments which constitute the power of Great Britain," &c.,from pages 11 
to 18. It may not be amiss to remark, while on this subject, that I have 
lived eight years in England, where, having plenty of leisure, I devoted 
most of my time to study the mechanism of its government, and to make 
out and appreciate the springs which give motion and power to its com- 
plicated machinery; and it may be stated, moreover, that I have been an 
attentive and disinterested observer of public events for the last forty years. 

AN ADOPTED CITIZEN. 

New York, Jan. 15th, 1845. 

* The dates of the articles contained in this pamphlet have been taken from the 
original manuscripts, and as they vary, now and then, a few days from the dates they 
appeared in the Daily Globe, I annex herewith, for the convenience of those who 
might desire to compare them, a correct list of the dates they appeared first in print. 
The articles in the Globe will be found identically tlie same as those in this pam- 
phlet ; no change whatever has been made, except those necessary to correct typo- 
graphical errours, and to connect the articles together in their new form. 

7th article appeared Dec. 30 
8th " '• Jan. 1 

9th " " " 7 



Ist article appeared Nov. 15 
2nd " " " 26 

3rd " " " 6 



4th article appeared Dec. 17 
5th " " «• 23 

6th " " •• 24 



WAR AND OREGON. 



New York, November 13th, 1845. 

The organs of the British interests in this city have been loud, for a 
few days past, in their denunciations against the views of the American 
Government on the subject of the Oregon 'J'erritory. They have re- 
ceived their cue from their patrons by the last steamer from England, 
Here is the substance of their vituperations, divested from the foul abuse 
with which *hey are intermixed : They pretend that the United States 
' have actually acknowledged the title of Great Britain down to latitude 49, 
and that therefore President Polk was and is wilfully wrong, in asserting 
that the American title to Oregon is unquestionable. The Commercial Ad- 
vertiser, ih.e Journal of Commerce^ i\\e Express., and the Tribune, maintain 
alike that England is clearly right on the subject of Oregon ; and the 
proof thereof — as they affirm — is, that she is willing to submit the case 
to the arbitration of any croicned head in Europe. They threaten that 
war is inevitable, if the resolutions which passed the House of Represen- 
tatives last winter are adopted by both Houses in the next session of 
Congress ; and they point significantly to the immense maritime pre- 
parations of Great Britain, which many of the late English papers insinu- 
ate, with an air of mystery, squint terribly towards Oregon. The obvi- 
ous purpose of this simultaneous movement on both sides of the Atlantic is, 
no doubt, to intimidate Congress. 

The Morning Courier and Enquirer of last Saturday, awkwardly enough, 
lets the cat out of the bag, as follows : " They (Congress) know now — 
which they did not kiiow last winter — that to vote for such a measure, is to 
vote for IFo/-." The Courier appears to entertain a very mean opinion of 
Congress. The House of Kepresentatives passed last winter, by a large 
majority, resolutions organising a government in Oregon ; but now that 
they find that England threatens, that war, as is pretended, is inevitable, 
they will no doubt back out, says the Courier. • 

The zealous endeavours of the whole of the corrupt organs of the British 
interests will not succeed to mislead public opinion, even backed, as they 
appear to be, by the leaders o? the Whig party ; the great majority of the 
people of this country feel confident that the (General Government will in- 
sist only on Avhat is clearly right ; thoy know that Ilcpublican America 
has no chance for a fair arbitrament from any of the Sovereigns or the 
Monarchies of Europe, particularly at this present time, when European 
statesmen, Mr. Guizot in their number, have publicly made known their 
opposition and dislike to the extension of Democratic principles. The peo- 
ple of the United States are generally convinced that the intrigues of 
of England are dangerous, but her threats are harmless — regardless of her 
threats we have annexed Texas, icilhoiU a xodr, and we will ultimately 
have Oregon, without a war. 



10 

It is no longer ago than last year, that the British organs and many of 
the Whig presses predicted war with Mexico, war with England, in case 
Congress dared to accomplish the annexation of Texas ; and now, when 
their false predictions are still fresh in the ?ninds of all, they have the har- 
dihood to make another attempt at intimidation. That the organs of Bri- 
tish interests should perform the part which is prescribed to them, is to be 
expected ; but it is certainly very strange that the Whig leaders and the 
Whig editors, especially those that are independent of British influence, 
should be so infatuated as to take sides with Great Britain against their 
own government, on questions o( national character ; the}^ ought to know 
that our system of aggrandizement is entirely in harmony with our free 
institutions, and that, so far, it cannot be denied it has been effected with- 
out war. The very contexture of our institutions, and the working of 
self-government as it is with us form, altogether, a neio era in the history 
of nations ; and so is our mode of ac/grundizement — other nations wage 
long wars, possibly for no other purpose than to take a few towns — we 
annex immense territories with no other instrument than the beacon of our 
institutions, and the cordial good xoill of the People who inhabit them. 

Some other day, 1 will proceed to give an analytical statement of in- 
controvertible facts, which will convince any unprejudiced mind, that the 
adoption by Congress of the resolutions which passed the House of Rep- 
resentatives last winter, icill not produce ivar ; and I make bold to pro- 
claim beforehand, that the course taken by President Polk, on the subject 
of our foreign relations, will be triumphantly sustained by the People of 
America. 



No. I. 

New York. November 25th, 1845. 

Will there be War bet^veen the United States and Great 

Britain^ 

The Whig papers throughout the county have generally assumed that 
war, (immediate war, says the Courier and Enquirer,) will be declared 
by England in case Congress adopts the resolutions which last winter 
passed the House of Representatives on the subject of Oregon. I asserted 
in the Daily Globe of 15lli inst., in an article headed " War andOregon," 
that the threats thrown out against the tenour of those resolutions by the 
organs of British interests in this city, were part of a concerted movement 
on both sides of the Atlantic for the purpose oi intimidating Congress, and 
I proceed to-day to give the first part of a detailed and analytical state- 
ment of facts, which will no doubt convince the unprejudiced reader that 
a war between the United States and England would, in a few years, 
lead inevitably to the dismemberment of the British Empire. This asser- 
tion will startle many; let those suspend their judgement until they have 
gone through the following elaborate analysis. In conclusion, I intend 
to establish by lair argument that the adoption by Congress of the Oregon 
resolutions does notatford England reasonable ground of complaint. Great 
Britain will try hard to bully us out of our rights, but when she finds out 
that Yve are resolved and united to stand by them, she will let us alone. 



11 

The analytical disquisition underneath was first published in Paris, in 
one of the daily papers of that metropolis, and formed part of a brochure 
in the French language. That language, on account of its clearness and 
perspicuity, is generally used by the statesmen of Europe for drawing out 
treaties and international stipulations ; it is peculiarly adapted to subjects 
requiring close reasoning. I have done my best to be both clear and 
concise, but I apprehend that the following translation may not be alto- 
gether satisfactory to those who have read the original. 

Paris, February 22d, 1845. 

Wliat Ti^oiild be tlie Result, and tlie probatole Consequences, 
of a War between tJie United States and England 1 

In order to treat this question with the serious deliberation that it de- 
serves, it will be necessary to examine carefully what are the elements 
which constitute the power of the two nations, respectively, and what 
are the principles which impart action to the governmental strength of 
the two countries. 

The available force that England can dispose of, for an aggressive war, 
has increased considerably since 1838. It was about that period when 
armed steamers were first built for the Royal Navy : the naval armament 
of Great Britain, has reached, at the present time, unmatched magnitude ; 
and for efficiency to strike a blow on a sudden emergency, she has no 
rival in the world ; and yet, on the other hand, England has never been 
in such a precarious situation as she would soon be, if she was to under- 
take a war with any maritime nation that could stand the first brunt, and 
protract the struggle for a few years. If such an occurrence was to hap- 
pen, her situation would, indeed, be much more perilous than it ever 
was before 1815. This discrepancy will strike one at first as being very 
strange ; but it is accounted for by the material change that has taken 
place in the principal element of her power. In order to appreciate fully 
the effect of that material change, it is incumbent to trace minutely the 
incipient beginning thereof — its progressive importance — its direct ten- 
dency, and the actual result. 

From the year 1793 to 1815, at the time when the British Aristocracy 
were waging war against revolutionary France and against the French 
Emperor, the whole of English funds and capital was invested at home, 
chiefly in manufactories ; the monopoly of manufacturing for all Europe 
was then the principal element of the power of England ; there Avas not 
any other manufacturing nation on the continent, and the people thereof 
could not do without British manufactures ; and although Napoleon tried 
his might to exclude them, they were in such request that they found 
their way to the continent, partly through smuggling, partly through the 
secret connivance of the authorities on the seaboard, and Napoleon him- 
self was constrained, through absolute necessity, to adopt the system of 
granting licenses, and whenever the aggregate exportation of British 
goods was less, the profits were larger ; England through these means 
was able to struggle until the time that the blunders of Napoleon ena- 
bled her, in 1813 and 1814, to literally overstock the whole continent 
with her goods, and to realize thereby enormous profits. 

Meanwhile, a general peace took place in 1815, and the various nations 
of Europe, feeling no longer any apprehensions of war, turned their at- 



12 

tention to manufacturing, and within the short space of two or three 
years, the competition of these rising manufactories was more effective 
to curtail the gains of England, than had ever been the famous continen- 
tal system of Napoleon ; and while Europe was gradually getting over 
the evils of war, England was overtaken by a most violent commercial 
revulsion. The massacres of the operatives at Manchester took place 
in 1S19, public order was threatened in many of the populous counties, 
conspiracies against the government were detected, a number of persons 
were hung for treason, civil war was rife, and the situation of the coun- 
try, altogether, was, for some time, very critical. 

The contrast that existed then between the situation of Great Britain 
and that of the other countries of Europe, exhibits in a most striking 
light the artificial basis n^on which rests British prosperity ; on the one 
hand, the various nations of the continent, in establishing manufactures 
for their own consumption, released themselves from paying tribute to 
England, and increased thereby essentially the welfare of the masses ; 
while on the other, the working classes of Great Britain were reduced to 
the greatest wretchedness ; and this took place almost as soon as she 
lost the monopoly of manufacturers ; the principal element of her supre- 
macy being thus impaired the superstructure of the British Empire was 
violently shaken, and while peace was a hlessincj to Europe, it was a 
blight to the system of the British Aristocracy. 

This critical state of things, if it had lasted long, would have left no 
other remedy to the English people than that of rising en masse against 
the privileged class, and at once to put down a grasping Aristocracy that 
allows them the means of living merely, by encroaching on the just rights 
of other nations. 

In the meantime, the revolt of the Spanish colonies had, since 1815, 
opened the whole of South America to British commerce, but the war 
that existed between Spain and her Colonies prevented this new market 
from being, at first, very profitable, but gradually an increase took place, 
part of the enormous capital that was inert in England on account of the 
prostration of business was invested in the New World by various com- 
panies, who thereby monopolized the valuable produce, and the rich 
mines of those extensive countries, and the immediate result of these 
operations was to relieve England from her critical situation : it was then 
that began the material change that has taken place in the principal ele- 
ment other power; England did not discontinue manufacturing, but she 
became by degrees, pre-eminently a loaning-money nation— 1 mean a 
nation loaning on pledges ; it was by loaning money to the governments of 
Mexico, of Peru, of Columbia, of Chili, of Brazils, &c., &c., than Eng- 
land obtained exclusive privileges, mortgages on the land and on the 
revenue, special treaties of commerce, and lastly, a spirited revival of her 
transactions with Europe, Avhich she laid under contribution by supply- 
ing it with the various productions of South America. 

The system of loaning in foreign lands having been adopted through 
necessity, and the allurement of high interests stimulating besides British 
cupidity, things have come to that pass that from oneto two hundred 
millions of doilars have been loaned in the United States without obtain- 
ing any pledge of a national character, unless it be admitted that the ad- 
yantage of corrupting thereby part of the population may be considered 



13 

as such; and progressively, all the capitalists of England, including, of 
course, the aristocracy (viz., the rulers of the country,) veithout hardly 
an exception, have invested their funds, either in foreign lands or in for- 
eign speculations and undertakings : the natural consequence of adopting 
that system on such a gigantic scale, is to render the whole world tributary 
to England, but in case of war with a maritime nation powerful enough 
to protract the contest for two or three years, it is self-evident that the now 
principal element of her supremacy would be in most imminent jeopar- 
dy ; and by reverting to the critical situation of Great Britain from 1817 
to 1819, when the //le;* principal element of her powder became impaired 
by losing part of the monopoly of manufactures, we may form an ade- 
quate idea, if a long war were to take place, of the shock and injury that 
would be inflicted on an empire whose superstructure, at this present 
time, is raised on transacting the commerce, and regulating the finances 
of the whole world. 

Anterior to 1815, the monopohj of mannfactnres enabled England to 
wage war against France by subsidizing some of the continental powers, 
and she thereby succeeded in keeping the whole of Europe in continental 
strife : but now, in case of an obstinate war, her extensive loans to foreign 
countries would be completely exposed to exterior casualities ; and let it 
be borne in mind, that all the riches, all the produce, all the tribute, that 
every tide wafts to her shores, has become absolutely necessary, even for 
keeping up her 'peace establishment. The false and iniquitous system 
upon which her greatness is established, requires, at all times, a standing 
army of mercenaries, and numerous fleets in all parts of the world, ready 
to crush down at once all rising resistance to her oppression, and if her 
already enormous expenditure was to be greatly swelled on account of 
war, at the same time that her receipts would be materially curtailed, it is 
easy to conceive that it would try hard the cohesion of the British empire. 
Even now, in time of peace, she cannot get rid of her income tax, that 
used to be laid formerly only in time of war ; and it has been affirmed last 
year in Parliament, by ministerial members, that to grant two hours of 
rest to the wretched children \vhose life is being shortened by being 
bound to toil from 12 to 16 hours in the factories, would put in great 
danger the supremacy, and even the existence of Great Britain. 

The principles that impart action to the governmental strength of 
Great Britain, proceed from the impulse given by a vigorous and talented 
Aristocracy, whose untired and united efTorts concentrate at one point, 
viz., inordinate aggrandizement: they number but a few hundred indi- 
viduals, and the greatest part of the land belongs to them, by entail. That 
privilec/ed caste whose members die, but whose Michiavelian spirit is in- 
variably caught and sustained by those who take their place, has, since 
the revolution of 1688, persevered without intermission in its encroach- 
ing views, going to war or making peace, according to circumstances, 
but in all cases consulting only its own selfish interest, without caring 
for justice, otherwise than in wordy professions ;* and by spoliating, suc- 

* By the time the reader wilL have read this article through, he will understand 
the reason why the British Aristocracy has been so pacific in their transactions with 
the great powers of the world for these last fifteen to twenty years, while previous to 
ISl.") they took every opportunity to embroil Europe in long wars ; theiv prmcijjles 
remain the same, but their interests have materially changed since they have become 
wholesale money lenders. 

The pretended division of British Aristocracy in two paities denominated the Whig 



14 

cesslvely, Spain, France, Holland, Portugal, India, China, &c., she has 
succeeded to raise up a gigantic empire, whereof, Manufactures, Com- 
merce, and Finances, are the three fundamental parts. Paper money has 
been the contrivance that has been used to give a monopolizing extension 
to these three organic parts, and it has been accomplished by raising the 
wind with promises to pay, to the amount of £800,000,000 ! and the due 
payment of the interest of that enormous debt is a powerful hold on the 
good behaviour of the actual creditors. The branches of that overgrown 
Empire have by degrees spread all over the world ; but the basis remains 
the same, and instead of increasing in strength, it has grown weaker, 
particularly for the last twenty-five years that England has been invest- 
ing, and involving out of the country, the principal org anic element oi 
that basis, becoming thereby pre-eminently, as I have before stated, a 
nation loaning money on pledges. 

The logical inferences of the preceding elaborate exposition, are now 
easy to be drawn, and it becomes a matter of evidence that a maritime 
war of a few years between the United States and England would have 
the following results, so far as concerns Great Britain. 

The revenue, interests, dividends, tribute, that she now collects from 
all parts of the world, would fall short more or less — her maritime com- 
merce would be partly ruined by privateers — the immense market of the 
United States for the purchase of the raw materials, and for the outlet of 
her fabrics would be closed against her — her manufactures could no longer 
stand a competition with those of France, of Germany, of Switzerland, 
and of those of the continent in general. 

It becomes, thus, self-evident, that the fundamental parts of the British 
Empire would be materially impaired, and by giving way, the whole su • 
perstructure would tumble into fragments. 

An analysis of the elements of the power of the United States will be 
the subject of the next article. 

and the Tory party, is a mere gull-trap to deceive the people into the belief that 
there are some patriots amoiie them ; it has the advantage, besides, whenever they 
find that a change of measures becomes necessary, to enable them to do it with good 
grace by letting the Whigs or the Tories, as the case may be, to take the administra- 
tion of atlairs in opposition to their sham opponents. 

The Tories are generally the most violent and warlike, and the Whigs are the 
most liberal and pacific. But in some cases the character of the party is inter- 
verted, as it was, by instance, under the Whig administration of Melbourne and 
Palmerston. 

The increase of the influence of France in the Mediterranean, and particularly the 
independent course of the Pacha of Egypt in 1839 and 1840, were gallihK to the feel- 
ings of the British Aristocracy, and threatened to blight their long-cherished plan of 
connecting their East India Empire with Europe by controlling Egypt from the Red 
Sea to Alexandria. Ibrahim Pacha was in full march on Constantinople ; there was 
no time to lose for preparing a change of characters. So the Whig Administration 
played the part of the Tories, and they did so admirably ; they framed the treaty of the 
Quadruple Alliance, landed in Syria, check-mated Ibrahim, settled the affairs of Tur- 
key and Egypt in their own way, gave a terrible kick to their good friend Louis 
Philippe, whom Lord Palmerston publicly declared he could at any time shove through 
■the eye of a needle. Following up the encroaching policy, they sent an armament to 
China, slaughtered the defenceless Chinese, took their ports, their bullion, and as 
high a tribute as they could extort. The boldness of these movements gave a gene- 
ral alarm to all Europe ; but British Aristocracy knows when to push on and when 
to stop — they found that the pear was not quite ripe, a change of policy became 
necessary, and the Tories aa meek as lambs, took the place of the Whigs. 



15 



No. II. 

Paris, March 2d, 1843. 

Wliat ^voiilrt be the Result, and the Probable Cousequeuces, 
of a War bet'ween the United States and J^nglaud T 

I proceed, to-day, to investigate the reasons, the causes, and the cir- 
cumstances, that will enable the United States to sustain a long and 
obstinate war ; and, moreover, to analyze their means of resistance 
against the immense aggressive means of Great Britain. 

The principal element of the force and ascendency of the American 
Republic consists in the peculiar energy of the Yeomanry of the country, 
united to the immense territorial resources it controls, and to the advan- 
tages it holds forth to the oppressed population of the despotic Govern- 
ments of Europe. In England, the owners by entail of the greatest 
portion of the land, count up a few hundreds — in the United States they 
number millions. Those millions of Freemen, in the strongest sense of 
the word, are inured to hardships by daily labour in the open air, and they 
take hold with equal skill, as circumstances require, the plough, the axe, 
or the rifle ; they would fight in defence of the soil that belongs to them 
with an intelligence and a tenacity not to be found in any other country. 
The regular army of the Republican Americans does not exceed nine 
thousand men.* They are conscious of their strength — and the invio- 
lability of the soil is safely entrusted to the well-known devotion of tlie 
masses to a form of government, whereof every individual constitutes a 
part, and which every individual has a personal interest to sustain. 

There are about a million of citizen soldiers in the United States, an- 
nually drilled to militia duty, and two millions^ — if it was necessary — 
would take up arms to defend their institutions, their homes, and their 
lands, against foreign invasion. The deadly aim of the American rifle 
has become proverbial ; it was fully demonstrated at New Orleans, in; 
1815, when a few thousand of the militia from Tennessee and Kentucky, 
with a few hundreds of French sailors, totally routed 15,000 men, said ta 
be, at the time, the choicest troops of the British army. It was pro- 
claimed by the British organs in America, when these fifteen thousand 
men landed, that they were " the conquerors of the conquerors of Eu- 
rope." They were actually part of the British army which had invaded 
France, under Wellington, in 1814. This remarkable victory is not an 
exceptionable case ; the battle of St. Jacynth was fought, with a similar 
result : about seven hundred of American adventurers completely cut to 
pieces the Mexican army of Santa Anna, 6,000 strong. 

On the seaboard the United States have nothing serious to apprehend 
from England — the means of transportation are so rapid and efiicient, 
through numberless steamers and railroads, which traverse the country in 
all directions, that there is not a single spot from Boston to New Orleans 
but where 60 to 80 thousand men might be concentrated in the short 



*This was tlie total number when I left America in 1843: I find now, by the late 
Report of the War Department, fliat it lias been reduced to 6,00U men. 



16 ♦ 

space of two or three weeks ; the British, it is true, might land ; they 
might possibly destroy one or two of the large cities on the Atlantic ; 
it is a game, however, they will be slow to undertake, for the loss that 
would ensue thereby to the British commerce and to British interests 
would be nearly as heavy as that of the Americans. They might, ac- 
cording to their usual warfare, burn a few towns, but they would soon 
be compelled to make their escape to their ships, their numbers greatly 
diminished by death, the prisoners taken from them, and the misshifi ; 
the British soldiers know well, and their desertion from Canada to the 
United States, at the peril of their lives, proves it frequently, that the 
Democratic institutions of the United States, and a few acres of land to 
make themselves independent, are more conducive to their welfare than 
ihe flogging they receive now and then, to encourage them to sustain the 
glory of Old England. 

On the north, northeast, and northwest frontiers of the United States, 
England might act with much better chance of success ; the passage 
which she has obtained through the State of Maine by the Ashburton 
treaty* has made her position in North America truly formidable ; it 
enables her to send troops to Canada in the heart of winter — it increases 
incalculably her means of organizing and planning aggressive excursions 
against the frontier towns on the lakes, and whenever the depradatory 
troops would meet with effectual resistance they might fall back on their 
fortified points, &c. The United States would, no doubt, perceive the 
dangerous consequences that would ensue of communication being kept 
up actively between Halifax and England through the means of steamers ; 
they might be averted by collecting a large force and marching it, on the 
first intiination of hostilities, into Nova Scotia, for the purpose of taking 
Halifax, if possible — if not, to blockade it strictly by land, proclaiming 
at once the independence of Canada. But it must be admitted that the 
American militia, although superiour to any other when defending their 
own soil, are deficient for an offensive war. Let us concede the worst. 
Let us suppose that England would hold her own in Canada, and that her 
emissaries should succeed to stir up the Indian tribes against the United 
States — it cannot be denied but that such a cruel border war would inflict 
very great individual misery, but no farther advantage would accrue to 
Great Britain; it Avould not enable the English troops to penetrate suc- 
cessfully into the United States. Any British General that would leave 
the protection of the fortified camps on the frontiers, and make an attempt 
to advance into the interior of the Union, would meet the fate of Bur- 
goyne, who was taken prisoner at Saratoga, in 1777, with 8,000 men. 
The one hundred and seventy thousand citizen soldiers of the State of 
New York, acting in concert with the hardy yeomanry of Maine, of New 
Hampshire, of Vermont, and of Michigan, could effectually annihilate 
or scatter any force the British might muster in North America. 

At the south England would very likely try to stir up the blacks to 
rise up against the whites. It is doubtful whether they could succeed ; 

* It enables England to keep Canada connected at all times with her other scattered 
provinces in North America. Before the Ashburton Treaty, Canada was without 
direct intercourse, seven months out of twelve, except through the United States. 
The disgraceful conces-sion that has been made by yieldint;- such an important passage 
is clearly and forcibly demonstrated in the Frciicl* broc/nire, wherefrom the above 
13 a translation : it will be the subjeet of a separate article. 



17 

were they able, however, to do it, the Southern States would then be, 
no doubt, the theatre of a frightful slaughter ; but the general exaspera- 
tion that such a horrible act would excite all over the country, would 
settle the question at once. Peace ivith England would become impossiljle, 
so long as she ivould own on inch of ground in North America. 

On land, Great Britain has no chance to force her terms on the 
American Republic. At sea, she might, it is admitted, destroy materially 
her maritime commerce ; but although maritime commerce has been 
greatly conducive to the prosperity of the United States, it is by no 
means an indispensable element of their existence; it may, indeed, be 
asserted, that there is no country on the globe that could so easily dis- 
pense with foreign commerce as the United States, considering that the 
Union has within itself such a variety of productions and raw materials, 
of territorial resources, and of manufactories withal, whose business 
would increase materially by getting rid of English competition. How- 
ever, even at sea, the United States have, in the last war, from 1S12 to 
1815, bearded the British Leopard, and the changes and modifications 
that the introduction of sleam-pov/er in the navy will produce in a mari- 
time war, would be mostly to the advantage of America. A strict block- 
ade of the coast would be nearl}'- impracticable — steam fireships might be 
stationed at the mouth and entrance of every river and harbour — British 
cruisers would have to keep away at a distance, and the numerous fleet 
of fine sailing packets in port, might be fitted out as privateers, and 
would have a rare chance to make depredations on British commerce on 
every sea. England would, no doubt, send, at the outset., a powerful 
armament of her armed steamers ; but England has so many places to 
guard and protect, that it would be impossible even for her to keep up, 
for any length of time, on such extensive coasts, a sufficient force to be 
able to resist the steam fireships that might issue from every creek and 
outlet, at every favourable opportunity ; and thereby the blockading force 
might be, night and day, threatened with total destruction. 

The reader is by this time, no doubt, satisfied that the United States 
are able to sustain a long and obstinate war against Great Britain; but in 
order to dispose of this question logically, I will proceed to explain the 
principles that impart action to the governmental strength of the United 
States. According to the federal contract, the various States have re- 
served to themselves all the powers which have not been delegated in 
clear and precise terms, to the General Government. The Constitution, 
it is true, delegates to Congress the right of declaring war ; but even that 
power is never used, but when a large majority of electors (that is to 
say, a large majority of the nation) is actually in its favour ; the necessity 
of a large majority being needed to warrant a declaration of war, proceeds 
from this simple fact, "that all the powers emanate directly from a ma- 
jority of the people." Under such a system, an unjust war can hardly 
ever be attempted, and it accounts for the forbearance of the American 
Administration from 1805 to 1812. They protested against the indig- 
nities that Great Britain was heaping on American citizens ; but Congress 
bore them for seven years, and war was deliberately and coolly declared, 
only when a large majority of the nation became aroused to the necessity 
of avenging their wrongs. That war, of course, was national, and the 
rank and file of the Federalist party, whose leaders fiercely opposed it, 
3 



18 

rallied round the majority. At this present time, many of the influen- 
tial leaders of the Whig party are closely connected with British inte- 
rests and with British capitalists ; these individuals, acting in concert 
with the numerous class of speculators, use their influence over the 
presses under their control, and leave no means untried to promote indi- 
rectly the views of Great Britain against the annexation of Texas, &c. 
Some of these do so in the hope of being able to contract some new loans 
in England, for the purpose of going on, as they say, with what they 
call internal improvements ; but the most that the opposition of these 
men proves, is, that there are selfish men in America, the same as in 
other countries ; but if war was actually to take place, many of these ego- 
tists would become the most inveterate enemies of Great Britain ; they 
would try to make up their anticipated gains by fitting put privateers 
against British commerce, with the hope of filling their pockets there- 
from ; and the popular feeling of the two great American parties, in case 
of war, would fully agree upon this point — to make one great effort to 
exclude England altogether from the American continent. 

The summing up of the juxtaposition of facts above minutely exposed, 
may now be made briefly, and the underneath inferences must appear ir- 
resistible. 

A declaration of war by Great Britain against the United States, on 
account of the annexation of Texas, or else, on account of the projected 
occupancy of Oregon, according to the resolutions adopted in the House 
of Representatives, would be a war of a ininorily government, resting on 
an artificial basis, whereof the three organic and fundamental parts are 
more or less exposed to be impaired, against a majority government, the 
strength whereof proceeds direct from the cordial adhesion of the masses, 
which government is supported, particularly, by the energy and intelli- 
gence of an agricultural population of nearly three millions of freemen, 
whose territorial resources and means of living, are beyond the reach of 
British aggression. 

The inevitable result of such a war, carried on with animosity for a 
number of years, must be 

THE DISMEMBERMENT OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, SUCH 
AS IT IS NOW CONSTITUTED. 
The CONSEQUENCES that would naturally ensue, from such an event, 
would be the folloM'ino: : 

THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS, WHOSE 
BENEFICENT EXPANSION WOULD DIFFUSE ITS BENEFITS ON A MUCH 
ENLARGED SCALE. 

THE REGENERATION AND ENFRANCHISEMENT OF THE POPULAR 
MASSES OF IRELAND, ENGLAND, AND SCOTLAND ; WHO, BY SHAKING 
OFF THE YOKE OF A GRASPING AND MACHIAVELIAN OLIGARCHY, 
WOULD THEREBY IMPROVE THEIR SITUATION, BY BEING NO LONGER 
REDUCED, EITHER TO BE PAUPERS, OR TO TOIL INCESSANTLY FOR A 
WRETCHED PITTANCE, IN ORDER THAT THEY MAY GIVE TO THEIR 
OPPRESSORS THE MEANS OF MONOPOLIZING ALTOGETHER, THE COM- 
MERGE, THE FINANCES, THE POLICE, AND THE ^SP/OJVl^G£ OF THE 
WHOLE WORLD. 



19 

New York, December 4th, 1845. 

No impartial person of common understanding can rise from reading 
with attention this transhition of the French brochure^ without assenting 
to its conclusions. Tlie writer thereof proceeds minutely through the 
whole article with logical precision, tracing events to their incipient 
causes ; and he is particularly careful not to draw any inference until it 
is warranted by preceding reasoning or statements. All the facts brought 
forward are matter of history, and the writer has classed and grouped 
them with such clearness and force, that there is no resisting the evi- 
dence. 

In corroboration of the views exposed in the French brochure, I here- 
with transcribe an extract from the London Globe of the 11th of Febru- 
ary last, in an article headed " Fortifications of London" : " But Eng- 
land cannot afford an invasion, her power is based upon commercial 
greatness, upon commercial security, and faith, and confidence ; let those 
be shaken and the whole fabric falls." 



No. Ill, 

New York, December 13, 1846. 

Will tliere Ije War betipveeu tlie United States and Great 

Jlritain ? 

Preparatory to resuming my remarks on the above question, I subjoin 

underneath the strictures on the Ashburton Treaty, which I adverted to 

in the last number. 

Paris, January 20th. 1845. 

The Ashburton Treaty, and the Reasons wiry It has made the Annexation of 
Texas popular In the United States. 

The news lately received from the United States, represent the popu- 
lar feeling in favour of the annexation of Texas as daily gaining ground ; 
the impulse that produces it, proceeds from a cause that begins to be felt 
in the Northern States, although that cause has not yet been publicly 
divulged. The reasons why the American press has been silent there- 
upon, will be easily seen through on reading the following explanation. 
It is now given in France, for the purpose of refuting, at once, the daily 
abuse belched out by the British press, concerning what it calls the grasp- 
buj ambition of the United States ; the cause alluded to is briefly explained, 
underneath. 

The Ashburton Treaty has enabled England to assume a threatening, 
and a truly formidable attitude on the Northern and Northwestern fron- 
tiers of the Federal Union. The new position created by that treaty, 
enables her to stir up, on a great scale, the whole of the Indian nation.s 
and tribes which have been of late years mostly concentrated West of 
the Mississippi, many of them with hostile feelings against the United 
States. Admitting the assertion as to the effect of the treaty to be true, 
it will be easily conceived, by looking over a chart of America, how im- 
portant it is to prevent Great Britain from extending her protection to 
Texas, and from cementing with that country a connexion akin to the 
one she established formerly with Portugal ; it would, undoubtedly, en- 



20 

able her to con^ro/ altogether the Gulf of Mexico; and it would give her 
an entering wedge to scatter her emissaries among the Indian tribes as 
far up as lake Michigan, and thereby encircle with enemies the whole of 
the Western frontier of the Union from North to South, which enemies 
would rise up at her bidding ; and in order to demonstrate the strict 
truth of the above assertion, as to the dangerous consequences of the 
Ashburton Treaty, I am going to set forth, as clearly and as forcibly as I 
possibly can, the position of England before the treaty, and compare it 
with what it is now, and what it may be within a short time. 

In the month of November, 1837, a general rising of the people of 
Canada took place against the Colonial Government. The river St. 
Lawrence was then bound in icy fetters, and the news reached England 
through the United States, as no part of Canada can be approached from 
sea in winter time. Halifax, in Nova Scotia, is the only harbour that has 
a free communication with England all the year round ; but Halifax, be- 
fore the Ashburton Treaty, could not communicate with Canada, on ac- 
count of a strip of land belonging to the State of Maine, which stretched 
so far North in those uncultivated and dreary regions as to prevent the 
possibility of its being turned. The result was, that England, notwith- 
standing her large standing army and her numerous fleets, could not send 
a single regiment to strengthen the garrison. The St. Lawrence did not 
open until the end of the month of May, and England would no doubt 
have lost, forever, her colony ; if local causes * had not enabled the 
Colonial Government to get over their adversaries without any material 
aid from the metropolis. 

Anterior to the Ashburton Treaty, the Northern and Western frontiers 
of the Union were comparatively safe, as, in case of war, Canada was 
actually cut out from England seven months out of twelve. It was then 
annually dependant on the United States for supplies and intelligence 
from abroad — that is, from the month of November to the month of 
May. The Ashburton Treaty has brought about a complete change. That 
part of the State of Maine which England had been so long coveting, for 
the purpose of opening a short and easy communication between Halifax 
and Canada, having been given up to her by the United States, a mili- 
tary road has already been completed ; a railway is even talked of, and 
now, the British Minintry can send rfiVec^, despatches, emissaries, ammu- 
nitions, troops, &c., whenever it suits them, in winter as well as in sum- 
mer. It must be taken into consideration, besides, that England keeps in 
North America, since the treaty, a garrison of twelve thousand men, which 
is -nearly double the number of the whole regular American army, while in 
1S37 she had hardly three thousand ! England has now completed such 
a compact and powerful organization in Canada, that she can, through the 
means of her steam navy on the Lakes, annoy and harass the American 
Union on a frontier extending three thousand miles. 

But what ought to be considered the most dangerous features of this 
new position, is the rapidity wherewith instructions maybe transmitted 
from London to Montreal. Celerity in war movements is well known 
to be the most energetic promoter of success, and the British Ministers 
might now, in the space of a few weeks, organize a plan of operations 

* These causes will be explained in a separate article. The general purport thereof 
will be to give an insight into the foreign policy of Mr. Van Buren. 



21 

with the incalculable advantage of being able to superintend its execu- 
tion, details, and progress, almost daily, from Downing street, in London, 
through expeditious steamers from England to Halifax ; and the whole 
available force of Great Britain might thus be brought to act wherever it 
would be thought to be the most effective. 

The Colonial authorities in Canada succeeded last war, with limited 
means, to stir up against the Americans some of the Indian tribes, which 
waged on the borders a war of extermination, without distinction of 
age or sex. Now that we can appreciate the extent and efficiency of the 
means at the disposal of England, we may form some idea of the exten- 
sion she might give to such a cruel and barbarous warfare. Well, if 
England, over and above the powerful means that the Ashburton Treaty 
has supplied her with, was to succeed besides to draw Texas under her 
protection, and was thereby, as a matter of course, to control the Gulf of 
Mexico, she rnight, it appears obvious, stir up simultaneously an Indian 
war all along the extensive Western frontiers, and at the same time, a 
war of revolted slaves at the South; which war of all others, is the most 
dangerous to the American Confederacy. To break asunder the Repub- 
lican Union, has been the secret aim at v/hich British machinations have 
been directed ever since 1815.* This is the aim she had in view when 
she lavished so much money to abolish slavery in her Colonies on the 
Coast of America. 

It is needless, no doubt, to enter into further developments. Every 
intelligent reader understands now the reasons why the Annexation of 
Texas has become so popular. The Ashburton Treaty has made it an 
event of sheer necessity for the protection of the American Confederacy ; 
so much so, indeed, that many individuals in the Northern States, who 
at first opposed annexation on account of honest and conscientious scru- 
ples about slavery, admit, now, after a more comprehensive view of the 
subject, the urgency of immediate annexation. 

But many people will probably exclaim, how is it that the American 
Government has been drawn into the discreditable cession of a passage 
whereof the consequences might be so disastrous .'' I confine myself to- 
day to prove the factf — the following remarks will, however, ac- 
count for the silence of the American press. The fed Attorney of Baring 
& Co. was Secretary of State, and was the American negotiator of the 
disgraceful treaty. President TylerJ was so situated with his Whig 

* Reasons in support of the above assertion will be found in an article horeafter, to 
be published under the head of "Origin of Slavery in the United States, and the most 
suitable means to promote its gradual abolition." 

t The original causes which have led to this discfeditable cession, may be traced up 
to the administration of Mr. Van Buren, and will be distinctly developed in the next 
article. 

J In justice to Mr Tyler, I am led to append herewith the following comment : 
When the British Ministers found that General Harrison was elected President, and 
that Mr. Webster was to be Secretary of State, they lost no time, and availed them- 
selves at once of the golden opportunity, by appointing at once a plenipotentiary to 
settle the Northeastern Boundary ; they knew that they could get what they wanted 
by sending & proper man; and, therefore, a banker came over to this countty, with 
full powers, &.c. The death of Harrison had like to spoil the comtemplated arrange- 
ment, as Mr. Tyler, in his inaugural, assumed a tone on the subject of our foreign 
relations very dillerent from tkat taken by the good-natured Harrison within the short 
space of a month ; and Mr. Webster had to use a great deal of management to get the 



22 

Cabinet, that he was drawn into signing it — over two-thirds of both the 
Whig and Democratic Senators were equally guilty in voting for its rati- 
fication. Most of the inlluential presses took sides in its favour, some of 
them biased by their political leaders, others through mere corrupt in- 
lluence.* Those circumstances, and the general disgust they created, 
explain the sullen silence of the great mass of the community on that in- 
famous treaty. 

Nrw York, December 1-lth, 1S45. 

The feeling of disgust whereto the French brochure attributes, truly, 
the silence of the American public would have prevented me from pub- 
lishing the above translation, had I not had, at the present time, an im- 
portant object in view. The motives that have influenced the course of 
Daniel Webster, are understood by every unprejudiced mind, and it 
meets the reprobation of every well-thinking man — it is, therefore, useless, 
to cavil about it — but what I want to expatiate upon, is, the course of the 
American Senate. 

The strictures on the course of the Senate I will give in another num- 
ber, in which I will quote a remark made to me by Mr. King, (Ambas- 
sador at Paris,) as to the reascns which induced Southern Senators to 
vote for the treaty. 



The article underneath was published in the Daily Globe on the 23d of December : 

No. IV. 

New York, December 21, 1S45. 
Will tlieriJ Ibe War toet^veen tiie United States asid Great 

Britain ? 

Previous to summing up argument on this exciting question, it appears 
proper to set forth before the reader, all the information that has a material 

consent of the new President. The disgrace of giving up to Great Britain the im- 
portant passage she was coveting, could not be brooked by Mr. Tyler without obtain- 
ing some concession that might, at least, seem equivalent. Accordingly, to save ap- 
pearances, the navigation of tlie St. John river, and a strip of land in Canada, 
were conceded to the United States ; it iiad the advantage, besides, of giving to Mr. 
Webster an argument, which he might and did use in the Senate, in addressing those 
who opposed the treaty : "you complain that we have given up our territory ; well. 
Great Britain, for the sake of compromise, has also, on her side, given up to us part of 
her territory," Sec; and to this day, whenever the Ashburton Treaty is held up as a 
reproacli on our negotiator, the ^lartisans of Mr. Webster will not fail to tell you: 
" Rpad what the loyalists of Canada say concerning the treaty ; there is an outcry that 
the British Ministry have sacrificed the honour of the country, &c. Such way of rea- 
soning has an ell'ecl on the many who take no trouble to form an opinion for them- 
selves, but it does not invalidate the fact — the stubborn fact — namely, that England, 
through that treaty, has been enabled to perfect such a formidable and compact an 
organization as to change altogether the former relative position of the two countries, 
while the advantages r/hich have accrued to the United States from that treaty, are, 
in comparison, entirely insigniticant. See note 3 of article No. 8. 

* I have been told, as a positive fact, by a person well situated to know it, that a 
certain editor in this city (whose paper has a great circulation) received from a Bri- 
tish functionary, now in Canada, five liundred dollars as a douceur, to -influence his 
editorials on the subject of the Northeastern Boundary. 



23 

bearing thereupon ; last Wednesday, I produced in the Dalbj Globe, the ^ 
translation of a remarkable article on the Ashburton Treaty, which was "* 
first published in Paris in a daily paper called Jm Rcforme ; this has been 
done with a view of setting forth in a strong light the course of (he 
Senate concerning their ratification of that disgraceful treaty : it is not a 
pleasing task to expose publicly the unsound views and principles which 
influenced the votes of over two-thirds of our Senators, but it becomes 
necessary to do so at the present juncture of our national affairs, when 
a similar course might be attended with still worse result. 

The President of the United States has lately sent to the world a mes- 
sage, wherein he has expressed opinions and recommendations on the 
subject of our foreign relations, which emphatically embody the popular 
feeling of the Republic. The House of Representatives, will, no doubt, 
sustain the President in the stand he has taken in maintaining our claim 
on the Oregon territory, as well as in opposing any attempt at Coloni- 
zation on this continent by European powers; but the organs of British 
interests appear to be confident that a majority of Senators will refuse 
their consent to such measures, that might give offence to Great Britain. 
If such is to be the course of the Senate, then, indeed, apprehensions of 
war might spring up therefrom. 

The elaborate analysis of the elements of the power of Great Britain, 
which is the subject of No. 1 of this pamphlet, demonstrates, I trust, con- 
clusively, that England, notwithstanding her immense means of aggres- 
sion, has never been in such a. precarious situationas she is now, to prose- 
cute a /)roirac/e<Z maritime war. But if the British Ministers perceive 
that our councils are distracted — if, moreover, they acquired the convic- 
tion that they might enforce their terms by striking a blow, that blow 
would be struck instantly, and without hesitation, entirely regardless of 
" our common Anglo-Saxon origin," of kindred ties, and of all the pathos 
exhaled by those who profess a holy horrour of war ; which fustian, if it 
was to influence our counsels, would have the efftict of producing that very 
war which it is meant to deprecate. I do not apprehend, however, that 
the British Ministers will have any such conviction ; they are fully aware 
of their weak points, and they appreciate the imminent risk they might 
incur, with much greater accuracy than it is generally done on this side 
the Atlantic. Their apprehension of the consequences of a war with the 
United States, is a sure guarantee that peace will be unbroken on the 
part of England. It is, nevertheless, very important, that the measures 
proposed by the President should be promptly and cordially supported by 
the Senate. The sooner Great Britain is convinced that we m ill present 
an undivided front, the sooner all appearances of war will vanish ; and 
our Senators should be careful to eschew, at this present juncture, the 
unsound views and principles which influenced the vote of many Senators 
on the Ashburton Treaty. I will proceed, now, to expound the course 
of the Senate on their ratification of said treaty. 

The very day that I published in Paris the French brochure that I have 
partly translated, I took it to Mr. King, the American Ambassador. I 
knew he was in the Senate at the time the Ashburton Treaty v/as under 
discussion, but, was doubtful, as to what had been his vote for the rati- 
fication thereof; being particularly desirous to ascertain his opinion, I 
read to him the whole of the article on the Ashburton Treaty, and laid 



24 

peculiar emphasis on the following sentence — " The Whig and Democra- 
tic Senators were equally guilty in voting for its ratification." Mr. King, 
with a degree of candour, highly honourable to him, made, verbatim, the 
following remarks — " I voted for the Treaty, and I must say, / am very 
sorry for it.'' ^ A short pause followed, and then he added — "Massa- 
chusetts and Maine, which were most interested, gave their consent ;" 
the last words of the sentence I do not recollect distinctly, but I recollect 
well the purport thereof, v/hich was, that the Southern Senators con- 
sidered the Northeastern Boundary a sectional question, &c.* The con- 
sent of Massachusetts and Maine was thus considered, it appears, by 
many Senators, of sufficient weight in itself to induce them to give their 
votes in favour of a treaty which affected, eminently, vital interests to the 
whole of the Union. As to the consent of Massachusetts, I will merely 
remark, that the men who held, and hold now, the political power of that 
State, were and are exceedingly anxious at all times to do every thing 
that may be agreeable to their friend John Bull — but how was the con- 
sent of Maine obtained } The noble-minded Fairfield, who is now in 
the Senate, might tell his associates all the particulars which preceded and 
influenced that consent. He might disclose to them that Mr. Van Buren 
wheedled him to withdraw his volunteers from the 'vantage ground they 
had gained over the British — he might whisper to them, that the promi- 
ses of the ex-President, as to cause the disputed territory to be respected 
by the British, proved to be fallacious — he might assert, that both Houses 
of Congress, with great unanimity, had voted and delegated to the Ex- 
ecutive, ample means and power for the purpose of sustaining our clear 
and unquestionable rights, and that said Executive basely betrayed them. 
Governor Fairfield might declare, that the State of Maine had incurred a 
debt of five to six hundred thousand dollars to sustain national claims, 
which he found were in progress of being sacrificed by the General 
Government. He might divulge, that the American negotiator offered 
to buy the consent of the authorities of Maine, by paying to them, out of 
the Treasury of the Union, the amount of expenses they had so promptly 
incurred, nobly actuated by a keen sense of national patriotism. Fi- 
nally, he might confess that the commissioners and authorities of Maine 
made up their minds to accept the bargain that was pressed upon them, 
only when they found they had no other chance to be assisted by the 
General Government. Such was the way that the consent of Maine was 
obtained, and the Senators who voted for the treaty must have been 
aware of all the facts above detailed. I do not doubt that many gave 
their votes with reluctance, and that they did so under the inistaken ap- 
prehension that war would have been the result of the rejection of the 
treaty ; but those who gave their votes under the plea that the consent 
of Massachusetts and Maine was of sufficient weight to give up a pas- 
sage whereof the consequences may be so disastrous to the whole Con- 
federacy, acted under a principle derogatory to the plain duty of the Sena- 
tor; specially in his acts as part of the Executive power of the United 
States, he ought, when deliberating in that capacity, to divest himself 
from all sectional feeling, and give his vote with a sole view of its being 
conducive to the welfare of the whole Union. 

* Mr. King admitted, in terms of hifiii praise, the correctness of the views express- 
ed in the French brochure ; and he told me the next time I saw him, that he had 
sent it to Mr. Buchanan, Secretary of State. 



Although disgust has prevented the people of the United States from 
making any public demonstration against the course of the Senate on the 
Ashburton Treaty, it must not be supposed that it is forgotten ; a proper 
tone of national feeling is gaining ground, and is penetrating the masses 
throughout the country ; and those Senators who may take upon them- 
selves to vote according to sectional feeling on the Oregon resolutions, 
and other questions, which will shortly be under debate, will find out, 
in time, the truth of my assertion. 

The arrival of the Acadia furnishes us with extracts from various in- 
fluential organs of the British Aristocracy, extolling to the skies a late 
speech of Daniel Webster, recommending the giving up of all claims on 
the Oregon territory, &.c., and they agree in manifesting the pleasure it 
would give them to see "the great expounder" appointed as negotiator 
for the Northwestern Boundary. No wonder they should like such a 
negotiator ; they have had already a foretaste of his accommodating spirit , 
in the Ashburton Treaty ; many of those influential presses, particularly 
the Times, intimate views which perfectly coincide with those already 
expressed in the Whig papers in this city: they hope that the <S'enaie 
will check the popular feeling, and that Mr. Calhoun will interpose his 
influence in order that " masterly inactivity" might prevail. At the 
time Mr. Calhoun recommended "masterly inactivit}^," it might have 
been a wise measure ; but the time has passed by, and Mr. Calhoun is 
no doubt aware of it. Mr. Calhoun, as Secretary of State, sustained our 
claims on the whole of Oregon with transcendent ability ;* but Mr. Cal- 
houn has voted for the Ashburton Treaty, and he is suspected of being 
rather sectional in his views. Some people insinuate that his zeal for 
maintaining our claims on Oregon will not equal that which he displayed 
for effecting Texas annexation ; I hope that this insinuation will prove 
entirely groundless. 

An attentive reading of the articles published in the Daily Globe on the 
15th and 26th ult., and 6th inst., on the question " Will there be War," 
&c., will carry with it a conviction that the passage, by Congress, of the 
Oregon resolutions, icill not produce tear ; but an emergency may arise 
in another quarter, that might be, within two or three years, a cer- 
tain cause of hostilities ; the explication of that emergency will be the 
subject of a separate article. 



No. V. 

New York, December 24th, 1845. 

Will tliere be War between tlie United States and Great 

Britain 1 

To the Editor of the Globe : 

In your paper of yesterday I made this remark, that an attentive peru- 
sal of the series of articles you have published for me, on the question 
" Will there be War 'iV would carry with it a conviction that the pas- 
sage, by Congress, of the Oregon resolutions, loill not produce ivar, but 

* It will be recollected that Mr. Webster, in a vehement speech, maintained in Con- 
gress that our claim on the whole Maine territory was unquestionable, and that we 
ought to take possession of the disputed territory on the 4th of July. I do not mean by 

4 



26 

(hat, however, an emercjencij may arise from another quarter, whicJi 
might be, within two or three years, a positive cause of hostilities. 

England has, for some time past, cast a wistful eye on California : it 
is much more important to her views of aggrandizement than would be 
that part of Oregon which is south of the Columbia river. Posurbly a 
treaty has already been concluded wath Mexico for the cession to Great 
Britain of that fine country. Should that be the case, an English fleet 
is already more than halfway to the Pacific, for the purpose of taking 
immediate possession thereof. If such be the course of events, no doubt 
but that considerable trepidation has been felt by the British Aristocracy, 
previous to making up their minds to take such a decisive step — they are 
aware that the dismemberment of the British empire is at stake, if a pro- 
tracted war takes place ; but they know, on the other hand, that the 
federate form of this government is a great impediment to a foreign war, 
which requires principally celerity and decision; moreover, the appre- 
hension that the United States might purchase California, may have 
spurred them to act before having proper time to ponder well the conse- 
quences, and possibly they may deceive themselves into the belief that 
prompt action, and actual possession by treaty, would distract the coun- 
cils of the United States, and would thereby prevent any serious oppo- 
sition. 

Taking the above premises as granted, the British Ministers would, no 
doubt, send all their available force in Canada and on the Coast of Ame- 
rica, for the purpose of watching our movements, and of fomenting the 
spirit of party, by exciting the zeal of the numerous partizans of British 
interests throughout the country. Such a course, a few years ago, 
might have proved successful to prevent hostilities from the United 
States, but 1 make bold to say, that it would now prove a failure ; ex- 
tensive preparations would be made in the United States — Great Britain 
would soon find that we would be in earnest in preparing for war ; and 
then the question arises, whether she would not, at once, commence hos- 
tilities ; her stake is so great that she might hesitate for a length of time, 
but war would be only delayed thereby, for the United States, acting con- 
formably to what was done in 1812, would coolly and deliberately de- 
clare it, as soon as the national feeling would become united on its neces- 
sitj'-, which might make tw^o or three years. 

The subject of the next article will be a disquisition on the probable 
effect of the President's Message in Europe, 



No. VI. 

New York, December 29th, 1S45. 

Will tikere be War between the United States and Great 

Britain 1 

We have now reports from nearly all parts of the United States as to 
the effect produced by the Message of the President. An almost univer- 
sal burst of popular approbation has responded to the clearness of its 

this allusion, to insinuate that Mr. Calhoun might back out in the sameivay that Mr. 
Webster did : I mean to say, that there is a ditlerence between an able advocacy of a 
claim, and an energetic zeal to enforce it. 



exposition, to the true American spirit and patriotism wliich it displays 
throughout, and to the soundness of the principles laid down therein as a 
basis for our foreign and national policy. It has silenced, /o/- a ichile, the 
opponents of the Administration, and many of them have even gone so 
far as to express themselves satisfied with confiding the care of our 
foreign relations to the prudence of an Executive, whom only a few 
weeks ago they were villifying at a great rate, applying to him such epi- 
thets as "rabid," " unprincipeld," &c. 

My purpose, in introducing to-day the subject of the President's Mes- 
sage, is to investigate its probable effect in Europe. Will it be received 
with the same manifestation of hostile feelings as was the Inaugural? 
The solving of this question will require some preliminary remarks. 

On the 12th of April last, 1 published in La Reforme, one of the daily 
Parisian papers, an article* beaded, " Threats of the British Aristocracy 
on the subject of Oregon," wherein I asserted that the warlike denuncia- 
tion that was made on the 4th of the same month in the British Parliam.ent, 
by both shades of the Aristocr;icy, on account, as was pretended, of the 
language of President Polk in his Inaugural, on the subject of Oregon, 
was actually nothing else than a theatrical demonstration, which had 
been concerted for the purpose of intimidating the American Govern- 
ment — of fomenting the spirit of party throughout the Union, being in- 
tended, particularly, for insulating the President from the support of 
the people. We have nov/ a Message from JVJr. Polk, taking stronger 
ground than the Inaugural on the subject of Oregon, (as I will show in 
its proper place when reviewing the Message,) asserting, besides, princi- 
ples of international law which will be most galling to the British Aris- 
tocracy, and to their vassals, Messrs. Guizot & Co. If the language of 
the President on the subject of Oregon, in his Inaugural, had been the real 
cause of the warlike demonstration which took place last April, we 
ought, of course, to expect a complete outbreak. Well, I venture to as- 
sert, beforehand, that the tone of the British Parliament will be, on the 
contrary, more subdued, | and if that be the case, it will be a convincing 
proof that the warlike demonstration of last April was a mere abortive 
attempt to bully us out of our rights. 

The portion of the President's Message which alludes to France, hav- 
ing been the subject of various comments, I transcribe it entire under- 
neath, as I mean to introduce some of those comments as well as my own 
remarks thereon : 

" Even France — the country which had been our ancient ally — the 
country which has a common interest with us in maintaining the freedom 
of the seas — the country which, by the session of Louisiana, first opened 
to us access to the Gulf of Mexico — the country with which we have 
been every year drawing more closely the bonds of successful commerce 
— most unexpectedly, and to our unfeigned regret, took part in an effort 
to prevent annexation, and to impose on Texas, as a condition of the re- 
cognition of her independence by Mexico, that she would never join her- 
self to the IJnited States. We may rejoice that the tranquil and perva- 
ding influence of the American principle of self-government was suffi- 

*The next number of this series of articles will contain a translation thereof. 
t Unless, peradventure, the emergency I have alluded to in the last article, (that of 
the British getting possession of California,) w;is to prove correct. 



28 

cient to defeat the purposes of British and French interference, and that 
the almost unanimous voice of the people of Texas has given to that in- 
terference a peaceful and effective rebuke. From this example, Euro- 
pean governments may learn how vain diplomatic arts and intrigues 
must ever prove upon this continent, against that system of self-govern- 
ment which seems natural to our soil, and which will ever resist foreign 
interference." 

General Cass, in a late speech in the Senate, observed with truth, that 
the above intimation is a well-deserved rebuke to the French Govern- 
ment for their intrigues in Texas and in Mexico ; thereupon, the French 
organ of M. Guizot, in this city, came out with foul abuse on the Gene- 
ral ; calls him a flatterer and a sycophant; because, forsooth, the Senator 
from Michigan, when in France, wrote a book praising Louis Philippe ! 
It is true that General Cass wrote such a book, but what does that 
prove? It proves that the General, like many other eminent men, has 
been for some time hood-winked by the wiles and duplicity of the citizen 
King ; the noble and patriotic Lafayette praised also Louis Philippe ; he 
died shortly afterwards, and his memoirs, published by his family, ex- 
hibit in words of truth, how the candid and venerable patriot was jilted 
by the trickish son of Philippe Egalite — how his heart was ulcerated, and 
how his last hours \\ex& embittered by the sad conviction that he had, 
unsuspectingly, delivered over the destinies of his beloved country into 
the hands of a heartless hypocrite and a rapacious despot. 

The liberal and open-hearted Lafitte not only praised Louis Philippe, 
but actually made him a King. Well, a few years afterwards, the unde- 
ceived and repentant Lafitte, from the tribune of the Chamber of Depu- 
ties, publicly,'' before the whole world, asked forcjiveness " to God and 
man to have been the means of placing Louis Philippe on the throne of 
France." No doubt that General Cass repents, likewise, to have deceived 
his countrymen as to the true character of Louis Philippe ; great many 
of them labor, as yet, under the delusion he has created, and it is his duty 
to act like Lafitte, and to make a public recantation. 

The French organ I have before alluded to, descants as follows on that 
portion of the Message which alludes to France : 

'' The French Government will be deeply wounded by the accusation 
of treason (treachery) and intrigue., (the word is there at full length,) 
openly cast upon it from the Presidential Chair. And, let us say it, the 
French Cabinet will not be wounded without reason. Whether the 
policy it adopted on the Texan question were good or bad, it owes no 
account of it other than to its own country and its own conscience, and 
it belongs not to any foreign Government to constitute itself the Judge 
thereof. The accusation preferred by Mr. Polk against the policy of M. 
Guizot will so much the more irritate the latter, as it will be in the 
hands of the opposition in France a sharp weapon, the /f/if of the Chamber 
will scourge unmercifully with the policy of the Ministry. But M. Gui- 
zot is not a patient victim, and -when he turns upon his adv-ersaries, his 
return bloiv usually brings one or more of them to the ground. We are 
much deceived, or Mr. Polk will have his share in these vigorous 
reprisals." 

According to the doctrine thus laid down by the French editor, it mat- 
ters not what lov.^ intrigues the French Government may have been 



29 

guilty of, to the injury of the United States. " It belongs not," says he, 
*' to any foreign government to constitute itself the judge thereof;" and 
accordingly Mr. Polk, for having done so, is threatened vi'ith " vigorous 
reprisals" from M. Guizot. 

The Frencl^ paper tells us that " the return blow of M. Guizot leaves 
one or more of his adversaries on (he ground'''' — this sentence will not be 
generally understood ; it requires explanation : nearly half of the whole 
number of the deputies of France are salaried functionaries, and the half 
of the remainder are striving to get situations for themselves or their rela- 
tives ; so, when it is said that M. Guizot leaves his adversaries on the 
ground, it means that he takes from them the pap they receive from the 
Treasury,* and leaves them, on the ground, to shift for themselves. 

The above strange reasoning of M. Guizot's organ, has thus been com- 
mented upon by the Morning News : " It is very possible that Sir Robert 
Peel may feel a little annoyed, and Monsieur Guizot deeply wounded, 
when, to the mortification of the failure — the unmitigated and humilia- 
ting failure — of all those abortive labors of monarchial diplomacy, is 
added the unpleasant necessity of hearing them thus coolly rebuked.^'' 
And further : "The President has used a moderation of expression due 
much more to our own self-respect than to M. Guizot's deserts ; and if 
the term " intrigue" had been directly applied to his course, (which has 
not been done,) and with it that of " duplicity" added to boot, the 
French Premier, might, perhaps, have indeed reddened with anger ; but 
full half of the blush would have been due to conscious shame and 
delected disgrace."''' 

The French paper, however, has not been left alone to sustain the 
cause of M. Guizot ; the Courier and Enquirer has the following re- 
mark : " It was indecorous to read a lecture to the French Government." 
And further : " It was impolitic, at a moment Avhen it was important 
not to lose French sympathies." 

Now, if the Whig paper just now quoted be in earnest in the above 
remark, it laboured under a great mistake; the French Government and 
the French People are two very different things, and the 6vent will prove 
it. 1 venture to assert that the sympathies of the French People will be 
more and more in our favour, in proportion as we detect and rebuke openly 
the crooked policy of M. Guizot, and his notorious subserviency to 
British interests. Louis Philippe and his ministry hate heartily our 
Democratic Institutions : they use all the means in their power to under- 
mine them ; the Journal de Debats, and all the papers under their in- 
fluence, are daily traducing the American character, and vilifj'ing our 
form of government. The most proper way to retaliate, is to let 
them understand that we are aware of their views and of their trickery. 
They dare not show their anger ; Louis Philippe is fully aware that a 
war with the United States, he acting therein as the vassal of England, 
would seal his fate < as a sovereign. Let the presj of this country 

*The threat of instant removal from office held, like the sword of Damocles, over 
the French Deputies, is the principal cause of the support which is given to the most 
unpopular Minister that France ever had; the French Ministerial papers, in the at- 
tempt to humbug the public, attribute that support to his eloquence ; if Louis Phi- 
lippe was to withdraw his countenmce from his Minister, the eloquence of M. Guizoi 
would not avail him twentv-four hours. 



30 



retaliate vigorously to the recriminations of the French ministerial organs, 
and they will soon lower their tone. 

On the whole, I sum up the argument as follows: The rebuke of Mr. 
Polk will have a salutary influence in France, and the effect of the Mes- 
sage will be, to increase in our favour the sympathies of the French People. 



No. VII. 

New York, December 31st, 1845. 

Will tliere l>e War lietiveen tlie United States and Great 

Britain ! 

To the Editor of the Globe : 

I began to prepare some comments on the following translation, where- 
to allusion is made in my last communication, but the Parisian article 
itself is rather lengthy, and, with the addition of those comments, it would 
encroach too much on your columns. Those comments, as well as the 
further investigation of the probable effect in Europe of the President's 
Message, will be the subject of another number. 

Paris, April 9th, 1S4.5. 
Tlireats of <he Britisli Aristocracy on the Subject of Oregon. 

The inaugural speech of President Polk has produced an explosion of 
high wrought up feelings in the British Parliament: the sullen and con- 
centrated anger which 1 alluded to a few days ago,* has at last exploded 
— the Ministers, and several of the leading members of both shades of the 
Aristocracy, have matured their parts, and after six days of preparation 
have enacted a grand theatrical denunciation. 

President Polk has taken the liberty, in addressing the American peo- 
ple, to say that, in his opinion, the title of the United States on the Oregon 
Territory was " clear and unquestionable," and that he would maintain 
it by all constitutional means, with this restriction, " rtiat every obli- 
gation imposed by treaty or conventional stipulation should be sacredly 
respected." 

The British Ministry pretend, on their side, that the rights of Great 
Britain on the same territory are " clear and unquestionable," and that 
" they are ready to maintain them at all hazards.^'' 

In contrasting thus the identical terms of the two declarations, there 
is no difficulty to perceive on which side is the blustering. 

If the British Ministers are convinced that the claims of England are 
"unquestionable," no one can object at their saying so ; but there is no 
need of swaggering on the subject of a question wherein the opinion of 
the President can have no hostile effect lor a considerable space of time. 
What can, then, be the reason of the concerted understanding of the organs 
of the two shades of the Aristocracy in threatening the United States t 
To burn down their towns — to stir up a war of revolted slaves — to sup- 
ply the Mexicans with ships and sailors, to enable them thereby to fit 
out privateers against American commerce t 

* Oil the 2d of April I published an article in a Parisian daily paper, with com- 
ments on the Inaugural of Mr. Polk, remarking, that it had been received in England 
with stilhn anger, &c. 



31 

The language of the President on the subject of Oregon is not of that 
pressing importance that will warrant such a sudden and violent denun- 
ciation. There are several causes that the Aristocracy does not wish to 
divulge, which has provoked it — they are the following: The ascen- 
dency that the Democratic party has regained in the United States; the 
firm and resolute tone wherewith the President has identified himself 
with the views and the principles of that party ; the mortification felt 
by the British Ministers, in finding that the intrigues of their agents, in 
Texas and in Mexico, have been detected and derided at. Finally, the 
vote of the last Congress for the annexation of Texas, which, confidently, 
they did not expect to take place. Those are the true causes of the irri- 
tation and of the threats of the British Aristocracy ; the obvious aim of 
the British Ministers in getting up MMth so much eclat a warlike demon- 
stration in Parliament, is to insulate the new President. The English 
Aristocracy accuse Mr. Polk, to court popular passions ; and it is them, 
on the contrary, Avho, in the most solemn manner, exert all their influence 
to excite the feelings of the powerful British interests which exist in 
the United iStates — for the purpose of denouncing the opinion of the 
President as tantamount to a declaration of war ; and, in order to prove to 
the American people that Parliament are unanimous to sustain the Minis- 
try and the Press in their denunciation, and in the threats that escort it, 
they have delayed one day, for that express intent, the departure of the 
mail steamer for Boston. But the Americans know that the support of 
Parliament has never failed to the Aristocracy, in all its aggressive wars. 
Lord North had for him Parliament and the Press, to wage war in 
America in 1776. What has been the result ? 

I have, I trust, conclusively demonstrated in former communications 
that England, notwithstanding her immense means of aggression, is in a 
most precarious situation to wage a protracted maritime war. Pretexts 
are not wanted to pick up a quarrel with the United States — she might 
easily find some, if it suited her — it is the apprehension of the conse- 
quences that makes her hold back; and I assert, in direct opposition to 
the language of the British Ministry, that it will not go to war unless 
it expects intestine division in the United States. 

It is to be hoped that President Polk will not be intimidated by the 
warlike demonstration of the British Aristocracy, and that he will evince 
the sincerity of his opinion, as to the claims of the United States on the 
Oregon Territory, by refusing to negotiate on any other basis than what 
are deducible from the terms of his Inaugural Speech. 

The course which Congress ought to follow is clear enough. It is in- 
dicated in the resolutions which have been passed in the House of Re- 
presentatives, but not acted upon by the Senate. The next Congress, 
will, no doubt, pass resolutions of the same intent, and the effect thereof 
will be, to place the United States in Oregon on the same footing that 
England has been for some twenty years ; beyond those measures of self- 
protection, no aggressive steps will be taken by the United States ; it 
will be left to England, if she wants to prevent the accretive power of the 
American settlers, to declare war ; and that is the very thing she will 
not do, unless she finds that the councils of the United States are dis- 
tracted. All the extensive means under the control of British inter- 
ests will be set in motion to create division ; but the masses are intelli- 



32 

gent in the United States ; they know how to appreciate properly the 
honest motives of men who hold the helm of State ; and if, as it is to be ex- 
pected, Mr. Polk does his duty, popular support will give him a prepon- 
derancy to put down party spirit, and to sustain the national character and 
the dignity of the country. The President is the direct representative 
of the whole people taken individually- This peculiar feature of the 
American Constitution accounts for a fact that many people wonder at 
without perceiving the cause thereof; the fact alluded to is this — the 

HONEST OPINION AND THE MERE RECOMMENDATION OF THE PRESIDENT 
ON ALL QUESTIONS OF A NATIONAL CHARACTER, IS MORE POWERFUL IN 
AMERICA THAN WOULD BE IN EUROPE THE ROYAL WILL OF THE MOST 

ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN, and eveii Congress nvist abide by it. 



Remark. — The underneath article was intended, like the preceding 
numbers, to appear in the Daily Globe, and accordingly the manuscript 
thereof was left in the hands of the person who took charge of the others ; 
on finding that five or six days had elapsed without its being inserted, I 
withdrew it on the 14th of January, for the purpose of publishing the 
whole in pamphlet form. 

No, VIII. 

New York, January 7th, 1846. 
Will tiieve l>e War between the Uuited States and Great 

Britain ? 

The translation from the French of *' Threats of the British Aristocracy 
on the subject of Oregon," which was the theme of the last number, sets 
in juxta position the identical wox(\^ of the declaration made by both Mr. 
Polk and the British Ministry on the Oregon question, and the following 
inference therein drawn must be granted as correct by any person wha 
will compare the two declarations, nameiy : "In contrasting thus the 
identical terms of the two declarations, there is no difficulty to perceive 
on which side is the blustering. 

The principal aim of the British Government, in the blustering alluded 
to, was to insulate the President, and to weaken thereby the American 
Administration, so as to prevent the accomplishing act of Texas annexa- 
tion. The following article of the Ministerial paper, the London Stan- 
dard., betrays thus, in an unguarded moment,* the secret motive of the 
British Ministers : " London, May 2d. The feverish anxiety which has 
prevailed for these two or three weeks had not decreased, as the late 
news by the packet Waterloo (from New York, April 11) gives out, that 

• The Standard of the 2Sth of March (the day that Mr. Polk's Inaugural was pub- 
lished in London) has the following comment on the passage of the resolutions for the 
annexation of Texas : " All this is interesting, and that is all ; for truly, it does not 
concern us any more than the acts and the gestures from the Celestial empire." Let 
the reader contrast this dissembled resignation with the anxiety betrayed by the same 
paper, in the article above transcribed of the 2nd of May, and it will give him an ade- 
quate idea of the sincerity, and of the consistency, of the organs of British Aristocracy. 



33 

nothing is to be expected from the Justice of the administration at Wash- 
ington, and, it is believed, that nothing but the attitude taken by England 
and France on the subject of Texas can prevent the American Govern- 
ment from accomplishing annexation. We look out, therefore, with im- 
patience to know what effect the demonstraiion made by both Ilauses of 
Parliament (on the 4th of April) may have produced in the United 
States." It becomes evident from the above avowal that much, to pre- 
vent the last act of annexation, was expected from the warlike demon- 
stration of Parliament, &c. Well, the Caledonia arrived on the 14th of 
May, bringing out the exi^ected news ; it turned out that the threats 
from England had not the anticipated effect, and the agent of the Times 
in this country (a Genevese Traveller)* and that of the Morning Chronicle 
(Publicus) agreed in advising the British Government to give up, for the 
present, the bullying system — that it would not do, that Mr. Polk would 
be sustained, &c. ; the consequence was, that the organs of the aristoc- 
racy, although awfully disappointed, declared sullenly, that they were 
well satisfied with the news. 

The purport of the above disquisition is to enable the reader to form, at 
once, a correct view of the reasoning I am going to set forth as to the 
probable effect of the President's Message in England, and I proceed, 
now, to quote those parts thereof that bear upon the Oregon questibn. 

The President states as follows: "Though entertaining the settled 
conviction, that the British pretensions of title could not be maintained to 
any portion of the Oregon territory, upon any principle of public law re- 
cognised by nations, yet, in deference to what had been done by my pre- 
decessors, and especially in consideration that propositions of compro- 
mise had been thrice made by two preceding administrations, to adjust 
the question on the parallel of forty-nine degrees, and in two of them 
yielding to Great Britain the free navigation of the Columbia, and that 
the pending negotiation had been commenced on the basis of compromise, 
I deemed it to be my duty not absolutely to break it off. In considera- 
tion, too, that under the conventions of ISIS and 1827, the citizens and 
subjects of the two powers held a joint occupancy of the country, and 
was induced to make another effort to settle their long pending contro- 
versy in the spirit of moderation which had given birth to the renewed 
discussion. A proposition was accordingly made, which was rejected 

* The letters in the T/mes, subscribed "A Genevese Traveller," are endited by a 
person in this city named D****, as it appears from the following anecdote recited by 
Lord Ashl)urton in jocose conversation; here is the substance of the great banker's 
bon-mot : " A few days after my arrival in New York I wrote a note to Mr. D., stating 
that I should be happy to see him at my apartments at the Astor House; he accord- 
ingly called on me, and when we were closeted together I told him — ' well Mr. D. we 
value your letters very highly in England, as the information they convey to us is very 
useful, and if I can render you any service, I will be very happy to do it ; your style 
is remarkably clear and/o?"Ci6/f,and there was a passage in one of your letters which 
struck us as being peculiarly significative. You said ' If the proper man be sent over, 
there is no difficulty to arrange the Norlheastern Boundary. You had, no doubt, 
something important and particularly in view for using the qualifying adjective of 
proper V Mr. D answered me he liad not ; he meant, that a personage like me, by 
instance, he considered a proper man." His lordship was of course too discreet to 
mention whether any services were rendered. This anecdote shows that Lord Ash- 
burton liked, occasionally, to crack a joke. In notd 4, of article No. 3,1 have taken the 
bame view of the subject as had been expresj|4d by " a Genevese Traveller"— the 
great BAiTKrR was, indeed, \.\ie ;prcpcT niaii, 



34 

by the British plenipotentiary, who, without submitting any other propo- 
sition, suffered the negotiation on his part to drop, expressing his trust 
that the United States would offer what he saw fit to call ' some farther 
proposal for the settlement of the Oregon question, more consistent icitk 
fuhness and equity^ and with the reasonable expectation of the British 
Government.' The proposition thus offered and rejected, repeated the 
offer of the parallel of forty-nine degrees of north latitude, which had 
been made by two preceding administrations, but without proposing to 
surrender to Great Britain, as they had done, the free navigation of the 
Columbia river." Further, the President states: " Had this been a new 
question, coming under discussion for the first time, this proposition icould 
not have been made. The extraordinary and wholly inadmissible demands 
of the British Government, and the rejection of the proposition made in 
deference alone to what had been done by my predecessors, and the im- 
plied obligations which their acts seemed to impose, afford satisfactory 
evidence that no compromise that the United ^States ought to accept can 
be effected. With this conviction, the proposition w hich had been made 
and rejected, was, by my direction, subsequently withdrawn, and 
our title to the v^hoJe Oregon Territory asserted, and, as is believed, main- 
tained by irrefragable facts and arguments." 

The passages in italics in the above paragraph set forth that Mr. Polk 
has no expectation that any " compromise that the United States ought 
to accept can be effected;" and, then, that "our title to the ichole Oregon 
Territory is asserted, and, as is believed, maintained by irrefragable facts," 
&c. The above official declaration, it cannot be denied, is much stron- 
ger than that of the Inaugural, which expressed merely an opinion. I 
refer on this point to the assertion I made in No. 6 of this series,* and I 
make bold to assert, besides, (in case the emergency I have alluded to in 
No. 6 does not happen,) that we will not hear this time that the mail 
steamer has been delayed for the purpose of threatening us, as in April 
last, with the whole budget of a general denunciation. 

The following passages of the Message lay down principles on inter- 
national law, which will be galling to the British Aristocracy, to wit — 
" The United States, sincerely desirous of preserving relations of good 
understanding with all nations, cannot in silence permit any European 
interference on the North American continent ; and should any be at- 
tempted, will be ready to resist it at all hazards.'''' And — 

" Existing rights of every European nation should be respected ; but 
it is due alike to our safety and our interests, that the efficient protection 
of our laws should be extended over our whole territorial limits, and 
that it should be distinctly announced to the world as our settled policy, 
that no future European colony or dominion, shall, icith our consent, be 
planted or established on any part of the North American continent." 

On the whole, it may be said that no Message issued from, the Presiden- 
tial chair has ever asserted rights and doctrines so offensive to the views of 
the statesmen of England, as the one I am reviev/ing ; and yet, I assert in 
advance, that no ministerial ebullition will take place. This assertion will 
seem at first as being an anomaly; but those persons who have read my pre- 
ceding numbers will appreciate the correctness of the following reasoning, 
why such an offensive message will, nevertheless, have a peaceful tendency 
in England. The popular enthusiasm that the Message has produced in 

* See th^ third paragraph thereof. 



3o 

the United States Avill be known or foreseen in England at about the 
time it will be received there, and the British ministers, on ascertaining 
that the great mass of the American people are ready to sustain the Pre- 
sident, will give up bullying ; they never meant to go to war for Oregon, 
and their secret resolve on the subject will become thus apparent to the 
whole world ; they know that they can hold their own in Oregon for 
many years to come, and they will trust the result to procrastination, 
bribery, and the intrigues of all kinds which they understand so well 
how to manage, 

I remarked in No. 6 of this series that the Message had silenced the 
opponents of the President /or a while ; but they have been covertly at 
work; their movements begin to be perceptible — many of the letter 
writers and several of tbe presses, which were foremost for the whole of 
Oregon, have fallen back rather abruptly on 49 degrees, and will fall 
lower still whenever it suits the secret influence which is acting upon 
them ; the Whig presses in the Atlantic cities, and the British organs in 
general, has lately teemed with articles and rumors whose burthen is to 
prepare the public mind for concession ; delay, is now the watch-word 
among the initiated, and, yesterdaj^, the Editor of the Courier and Inquirer y 
who is generally so very ferocious against his opponents in politics, comes 
down on his knees to implore " men of all parties to use their iniluence, 
at least to delay the adoption by either house of Congress of any propo- 
sition now before it — either for sivino: the twelve months notice to Great 
Britain, or for extending the jurisdiction of our laws over our citizens m 
Oregon, or for increasing our military force with a view to occupying 
posts on the route, to and within, that territory." The Courier who 
swaggered so much lately about military preparations, is now even op- 
posed to increase " our military force with a view to occupying posts 
on the route to Oregon" for fear it might give offence to Great Britain. At 
Washington, various insidious means and measures are contrived, also, to 
delay, and prevent, if possible, the action of Congress on the express 
recommendalions of the President ; and a debate has lately taken place 
in the Senate, whereof a brief synopsis will throw some light on the 
tactics of those who, directly or indirectly, act under the influence of 
British interests. 

On the 30th of December, the resolutions of Mr. Hannegan came up ; 
they were read, and on motion of Mr. Archer, seconded by the mover, 
the consideration thereof was postponed ; but Mr. Calhoun, it seems, 
thought that this was a fit opportunity " to define his position : " after a 
short preamble, he introduced a set of resolutions, and made a speech 
which does not bespeak much for his frankness, for he appeared to be 
very studious to defend the course of the President on the Oregon ques- 
tion against the implied censure of Mr. Hannegan ; while, on the other 
hand, he declares he is opposed to giving the year's notice to England, 
which the President expressedly recommends in the following explicit 
language : 

" All attempts at compromise having failed., it becomes the duty of 
Congress to consider what measures it may be proper to adopt for the 
security and protection of our citizens now inhabiting, or who may here- 
after inhabit Oregon, and for the maintenance of our just title to that ter- 
ritory. In adopting measures for this purpose, care should be taken that 
nothing be done to violate the stipulations of the convention of 1827, 



36 

which is still in force. Under that convention, a year's notice is required 
to be given by either party to the other, before the joint occupancy shall 
terminate, and before either can rightfully assert or exercise exclusive 
jurisdiction over any portion of the territory. This notice^ it would in my 
judgment^ be proper to give; and I recommend that provision be made by 
law /or giving it accordingly^ and terminating in this manner the conven- 
tion of the 6th of August, 1827." 

The above recommendation is earnest, and without ambiguity ; it proves 
that the Senator from South Carolina, under cover of defending the course 
of the President, takes strong ground in opposing his most important 
measures. The sectional feeling of Mr. Calhoun has so far biassed his 
judgment as to blind him in adopting a course which cannot have any 
beneficial, or even a practical, result to settle the Oregon question. If 
Mr. Calhoun had positive assurance that the British Government would 
take up the terms of the compromise proposed by Mr. Polk last summer, 
there might be some excuse for his course ; but I venture to assert, and 
time will prove it, that Mr. Calhoun has no guaranty whatsoever to that 
effect: Great Britain will not take tip the aforesaid proposition, and any- 
thing less, Mr. Calhoun ought to know, Vv'ill not be ratified by two-thirds 
of the Senators. 

No hesitation whatever ought to be felt for givino; Great Britain the 
one year's notice ; let that notice pass by nearly an unanimous vote, and 
what I have already stated will become apparent to all, namely: that the 
British ministers " never meant to go to war for Oregon " — that is, so 
long as their stake and risk, in a protracted maritime war, will be as great 
and eminent as they are now. 

It is a great mistake to suppose that procrastination would be advan- 
tageous to the United States ; the very reverse would be the case. Pro- 
crastination, at the time when the necessity for proper action has been so 
clearly and forcibly indicated by the President, would be an undeniable 
proof that apprehension of the displeasure of England would be the real 
cause thereof; it would prove conclusively that Congress dare not pass 
resolutions akin to those which last year went through the House of Rep- 
resentatives by a great majority ; and the admiration and respect, which 
the. high and becoming tone assumed by the President in his message 
has, no doubt, produced in Europe, would be superceded by contempt 
and ridicule. The immediate effect of delaying the one year's notice 
would be, therefore, to induce the British Government to assume a hos- 
tile attitude, which would prolong indefinitely a state of uncertainty as to 
the final result — nearly as bad as war itself. Moreover, when it would be 
understood in the western states that Congress backs out, the tide of emi- 
gration would cease to set towards Oregon. 

The House of Representatives, notwithstanding all the intrigues that 
are at work, will, no doubt, pass the Oregon resolutions. Mr. Calhoun 
in his speech said, that he would hold responsible those who might, (ac- 
cording to his view,) be the cause of war. I will tell him, that the Ame- 
rican people will hold him responsible, should the one year's notice be re- 
jected in the Senate, through his influence. 

The next number will contain an argumentative summary of the infer- 
ences and conclusions to be drawn and deduced from this long series of 
articles on the question, " Will there be War } " 



37 



No. IX. 

New Yokk, January 14, 1846. 
Will tliere l>e War bet^^eeii the United States and Great 

Britain ? 

By comparing carefully the various circumstances, which, more or less, 
may have had an influence on past events ; by observing with discrimi- 
nation the various phasis of political, commercial, and financial move- 
ments ; and, finally, by recording faithfully the opinions formed conform- 
ably to the above rules, so as to test the soundness of one's judgment, 
a calm and impartial observer may be enabled, thereby, to indicate 
correctly, beforehand^ the solution of the pending events which engross 
public attention. 

The query, "Will there be War?" is now the topic of all conversations. 
The general answer is, there will be no war ; but there are very few per- 
sons that can give satisfactory reasons to others, or even to themselves, 
for their opinions on the subject. Some will tell you there will be no war, 
because of the kindred ties of the two nations speaking the same lan- 
guage ; others, because England wants our bread-stufis ; some, because 
she cannot do without our cotton ; others, because Christianity, and the 
high state of civilization of the two countries, forbid it ; many, in the 
Atlantic cities, assert loudly that the United States must and will back 
out, as they verily believe that England is clearly right. Those reasons 
fail invariably to carry conviction, even into the minds of those who set 
them forth : the apprehension of war still remains, and the same persons 
day after day propound over again the same query, hoping, no doubt, 
that some one will be able to give them better reasons than they can find 
out themselves. Let such persons read with attention, " The Analysis 
of the Elements which constitute the power of England," (see pages 11 
to 14 ;) it has been penned conformably to the precepts laid down in the 
first paragraph of this article ; it is, in fact, the result of a close ob- 
servation on the political, financial, and commercial events of the last 
forty years. Let those persons ponder well on the irresistible tendency of 
the historical fads grouped and recorded in that analysis, and on the 
logical inferences which obviously must be drawn therefrom, and they 
will/(;e/ convinced that the British Aristocracy cannot, without incurring 
the most eminent peril, run the risk of a protracted war with this country ; 
and those persons will then be able to explain satisfactorily to their 
friends the real potent cause that prevents England, notwithstanding her 
immense means of aggression, from going to war. 

On the strength of the views clearly deducible from the analysis above 
alluded to, I published in Paris, in 1845, a series of articles,* wherein 
I indicated in clear and explicit language, the course of events as to the 

* Those articles appeared chiefly in a daily paper called La Reforme, and the 
spirit of some of them found their way in the Siecle, the JVatiotial, the Commerce, 
&,c., whose editors had my manuscripts on hand for a length of time ; they were re- 
published in the form of a brochure in the month ot March. Subsequently other 
articles were published, which were also republished in a brochure, in the month of 
May. 



38 

international ditficulties then pending, and all the conclusions therein 
drawn, as to the final consummation of those events, have been verified 
with an unerring precision. 1 asserted, in positive terms, in those arti- 
cles, that " England would not go to war to prevent the annexation of 
Texas;" and, moreover, that said annexation would take place "re- 
gardless of her threats and of her intrigues." The same facts, and 
the same reasoning, that led me to set forth the above assertions, act in 
full force as to the stand taken by great Britain on the subject of Oregon. 
She will recede, in proportion as we w^il assert with unanimity our un- 
questionable rights. As to the remarkable correctness of all the conclu- 
sions above adverted to, I refer to a couple of pamphlets published in 
Paris in March and May last.* 

Well, now that I have in this and the preceding numbers connected the 
chain of uncontrovertible facts first established, with such official declara- 
tions, axiomatic principles, and ungarbled quotations as have an impor- 
tant bearing to illustrate my views on the question, " Will there be 
War .'" I will proceed to give a summary of the principal inferences 
and conclusions which are evidently corollary therefrom — they are the 
following : 

1st. That the British Aristocracy will take good care not to engage in 
a war with the United States on the subject of Oregon, unless they have 
positive assurances that it would lead, at once, to a disruption of the 
confederacy. 

2nd. That the giving the year's notice, and the passing by Congress of 
such measures, to protect our citizens in Oregon, as do not infringe on 
treaty stipulations, will have the effect, if it be done promptly, to remove 
all apprehensions of war, as it w'ill then become apparent to all, that p^n- 
gland will keep quiet on the subject of Oregon. 

3rd. That hesitation and backwardness, in either branch of Congress, 
to share with the President the responsibility of the acts he has recom- 
mended on the subject of Oregon, would have the tendency of inducing 
the British Government to hold back, and apprehensions of war would 
increase, or diminish, in proportion as our councils might appear to be 
more or less divided. 

4th. That the people of the United States will sustain the President 
in the stand he has taken in his Message, regardless of the intrigues which 
may succeed, (einporarily, to prevent the passage of the Oregon resolu- 
tions in the Senate. 

5th. That the President, sustained by the popular support of the 
masses, will ultimately succeed to carry his measures through in Con- 
aress, unless he lack decision — unless he falter in his duty. 

T!ie Proper Course to Secure, peaceably, tlie Whole of tlie 
Oregon Territory. 

The following measures will ensure to us, in course of time, the whole 
of Oregon : 

1st. The one year's notice should be given promptly and unani- 
mously. 

* A few copies which remain on hand, will be left for sale at William Taylor's, No. 2 
Astor House. 



39 

2nd. All the protection, which is compatible wilh existing stipulalions, 
should be, at once, by law, extended to the settlers, and encouragement 
should forthwith be given to emigration to Oregon, by grants of land, 
&c., within our actual occupancy. 

3rd. At the end of the year's notice, the jurisdiction of the United 
States ought to be asserted, by law, to the line of compromise offered by 
the President last summer. 

4th. And, in order to demonstrate that the nation's resolve is made up 
in taking a resolute stand in support of those three measures, the princi- 
pal harbours should immediately be put under a proper state of defence, 
and the United States steam navy materially increased. 

Let the above measures be deliberately sustained, each at the time 
specified, by a great majority of Congress, and the power of accrelion 
will give us the whole of Oregon before the expiration of ten to fifteen years. 

The propriety of the two first measures, and their peaceful tendency, has 
been demonstrated in the preceding pages ; the intent of the fourth mea- 
sure would be to give a convincing and significant proof of our unanimity. 
The act of submitting thus to precautionary expenditure, i/i time of peace, 
would be considered, in the right quarter, as a sure indication that we 
would not shrink from any sacrifice to vindicate our just rights : it would 
have, decidedly, a peaceful tendency. The propriety of the third mea- 
sure requires a short explication. The President in his Message has the 
following paragraph : 

" At the end of the year's notice, should Congress think it proper to 
make provision for giving that notice, we shall have reached a period 
when the national rights in Oregon must either be abandoned or be 
firmly maintained. That they cannot be abandoned, without a sacrifice 
of both national honor and interest, is too clear to admit of doubt." 

Considering that the compromise offered by Mr. Polk has been rejected 
rather contemptuously by the British plenipotentiary, it was not impro- 
per that the President should state the alternative as above recited ; but 
the same reasons which prompted Mr. Polk to offer the line of 49 degrees, 
will exist in their full force at the end of the year's notice. Congresis 
ought to act accordingly, and no doubt would do it — if the other conjoint 
measures were to be adopted by a great majority. It would show to the 
world that our stand had been duly considered as regards justice, and 
that we are slill ivilling to concede, as a forfeit, for our neglect in not as- 
serting sooner our indisputable claim, the same terms which were offered 
by the President in 1846. This concession being connected with the other 
decisive measures above recommended, would, on the other hand, unequi- 
vocally demonstrate, that we would not swerve from resolutions so deli- 
berately and solemnly taken. 

The British subjects now settled in Oregon have, through our long and 
careless forbearance, acquired rights which, in equity, ought to be res- 
pected, and English jurisdiction north of 49 degrees ought to be allowed 
as long as the British residents would think it expedient. But any one 
who will take into due consideration the efficiency of the measures, above 
set forth, for promoting a large and increasing emigration, will, no doubt, 
conclude that the quiet, but absorbing power of accretion, would unite the 
whole of Oregon under the American flag within ten to fifteen years, at most. 
Some people will object to the views herein expressed, under the ap- 



40 

preliensiou that border disputes would take place, and that war would be 
the consequence. This miglit be very true it' the British Aristocracy were 
disposed to run the risk thereof. I have, I trust, conclusively established 
in the preceding pages that the great stake they would have in jeopardy, 
by going to war against an united people, would prevent it ; there is no 
danger whatsoever that the decisive, but, at the same time, conciliatory^ 
measures above recommended would be the cause of hostilities. Border 
disputes in Oregon would have less effect to provoke war, than the bor- 
der disputes which, occasionally, used to take place on the Northeastern 
boundary. 

The offer made by the President last summer, for settling the Oregon 
dispute, was eminently judicious; it has conceded much for the sake of 
compromise, at the same time that it has reserved what constitutes the 
principal importance of Oregon in a commercial point of vieic, namely : the 
outlets in the Pacific, and the exclusive conlroul of the Columbia river* 
]Xo compromise can take place as to the right of the exclusive navigation 
of said river ; but I do not see any inconvenience to allow merchant ves- 
sels to navigate it, in pursuance of free trade principles. 

A proposition has been lately started in many quarters, that we should 
give up to the British the right of navigation on the Columbia river, pro- 
vided they should grant us an equivalent — the right of navigation on the 
St. Lawrence. The right of navigating a river, whereof both sides are 
occupied and fortified by a foreign nation, is liable to numberless disputes 
and difficulties ; we have an instance, at the present time, as to our right 
to navigate the St. John, which is stipulated by treaty, but it is well 
known that the British authorities render that right nugatory. 

On the whole, I am fully satisfied that the adoption by Congress of the 
four measures, as set forth at the head of this article, conjointly., in all 
its parts and spirit., would secure to us, peaceably, the whole of 
Oregon. 



New York, January 3lst, 1846. 
Remark. — On Wednesday, the 15th instant, the matter to make up this 
pamphlet was left in the hands of the printer, with the expectation that 
it would be published in the course of a few days ; but, owing to some 
unavoidable circumstances, the printing thereof has been delayed to this 
day. I avail myself of that delay to write and insert an additional arti- 
cle, on the subject of the late news brought by the steamer Hibernia, 
from Liverpool. 

Resignation of tlie Peel Ministry, and tlieir Return into 

Po^ver. 

Twelve or thirteen days ago the packet ship Liberty brought over the 
news of the resignation of the British Ministry, and the appointment of 
Lord John Russell to form a Whig administration ; on the 24th instant, 
within a week's time, the Steamer Hibernia furnished us with the infor- 

* The line of forty-nine degrees would give us Pujet's Sound, the Straits of Fuca, 
part of Vancouver's Island, and an important port at the entrance of the Straits, 



41 

mation that Lord John Russell has failed to form an adaiinlstration, and 
that Sir Robert Peel, with his coUeaoues, have resumed their offices. 
The whole of this manoeuvring strikes me as being a mere juggle, which 
has been enacted for the purpose of turning away the public attention 
from the new policy which the British Aristocracy means to pursue ; and 
the reader will do well, preparatory to reading what follov/s, to look over 
a note appended to pages 13 and 14 of this pamphlet, wherein the de- 
vices of the British Aristocracy are strikingly illustrated. I transcribe 
therefrom the following remark : " The pretended division of the British 
Aristocracy in two parties, denominated the Whig and the Tory party, is 
a mere gull-trap to deceive the people into the belief that there are some 
patriots among them. It has the advantage, besides, whenever they find 
that a change of measures become necessary^ to enable them to do so with 
good grace, by letting the whigs or the tories, as the case may be, to 
take the administration of affairs in opposition to their mock opponents." 
The sentences in italics give the explanation of the late manoeuvres — a 
change of measures has become necessary. The British ministry, through 
vexation and sullen anger at the passage by Congress of the resolutions 
annexing Texas, took a stand on the subject of Oregon which, I have 
recorded in pages 30 to 31 of this pamphlet ; this stand has beefi met 
by the President in his late Message. The breaking up of the negotia- 
tions last summer, and particularly the tone of the last note from jMr. 
Buchanan to the British plenipotentiary, wherein the American Secretary 
of State claims, officially, the whole of Oregon, must hav^e convinced the 
British ministry that the President would toe the mark in his forth- 
coming Message. Some means must be contrived to recede, iviih good 
grace, from the threatening attitude assumed last April ; hence the ma- 
noeuvring about the resignation, the attempt to form a new administration, 
and, finally, the return of the old one. While the public mind was thus 
agitated by those mighty changes, the leading organs of the Aristocracy 
assumed a more friendly tone towards America ; in the meantime, the 
President's IMessage arrives in England, and, although it asserts, officially, 
claims that had been so violently denounced when the President, in his 
Inaugural, set forth those claims as being, in his opinion, " unquestion- 
able," we find that the Message has had a. peaceful tendency. 

No. 6 of this pamphlet was published in the Daily Globe of the 30th 
of December last, and the reader, by perusing it, will find (see page 27) 
that I distinctly indicated the above result as to the peaceful effect of the 
Message, my assertions thereon being predicated on the very reasons 
■which, no doubt, have brought it about. 

The burden of the news brought by the Hibernia, concerning the va- 
rious phasis of the ministerial movements, may be condensed in a few 
lines. Sir Robert Peel, meeting with opposition from the Duke of Wel- 
lington on the subject of the corn laws, which he is represented as being 
bent upon repealing altogether, resigns with all his colleagues. Lord 
Russell is sent for — accepts the charge of forming a new administration, 
but fails to do it on account, it is said, that Earl Grey objects to Lord 
Palmerston. Whereupon, Sir Robert Peel with his colleagues resume 
at once their offices, without further ceremony. While this manoeuvring 
was performed, which took up about a fortnight, the automaton Queen 
was all the time graciously pleased — graciously pleased, to accept Sir 
Robert Peel's resignation — graciously pleased, to take up Lord Russell 



42 

and her former whig friends — and, lastly, graciously pleased, to greet 
again Sir Robert Peel as her prime minister. 

Let us look, although slightly, en passant, under the surface of things, 
as they are above represented, and enquire, somewhat, into their cor- 
rectness. 

If the opposition of the Duke of Wellington to the repeal of the corn 
laws had been the true cause of the breaking up of the ministry, how is 
it that Sir Robert Peel consented to resume his oJifice with the Duke of 
Wellington as his colleague ? If the intention of Sir Robert Peel had 
been to form a new administration, having within itself the proper ele- 
ments of strength, is it reasonable to suppose that he would have recom- 
mended Lord Russell for that purpose ? It is notorious, that the said Lord 
is pledged to introduce measures that have no chance whatever to obtain 
a majority in Parliament — a Russell administration is, at the present 
time, unpracticable. And as to the reason set forth, that Lord Russell 
failed to form an administration because Earl Grey objected to Lord Pal- 
merston, it must, on reflection, strike the reader as being rather shallow. 

The above remarks, although made hastily, point out significantly some 
of the inconsistencies of the statements of the British press, to hood- 
wink, not only the English people, but the world at large. It is not 
necessary for my actual purpose to go deeper into the subject ; I wish 
merely to record my deliberate opinion thereon, namely — that the whole 
transaction, as I stated at the outset, has been a mere juggle, and I am 
inclined to believe, besides, that there has been a secret understanding, 
throughout the whole imbroglio, between Sir Robert Peel and Lord 
Russell. 

The effect produced by the late news, on the tone of a majority of the 
newspapers in the Atlantic cities, deserves a passing remark. Before the 
arrival of the news, most of the editors thereof affected to express their 
belief that war was not possible, &c. ; but that opinion was evidently 
predicated on the hope they entertained that Congress would not support 
the measures recommended by the President ; apprehensions of war were 
still rankling into the minds of most of them, as it may have been easily 
remarked by their harping day after day on the same subject, and, more- 
over, by the joy they have manifested at the pacific complexion of the 
news, which, it appears obvious, has taken them by surprise; and they 
seem to think, because England has not issued forth those warlike 
declarations they so much apprehended, that all the difficulties will be 
settled at once. This is falling from one mistake into another : I foresaw 
distinctly the pacific reception of the Message, v/hich, by not expecting 
it, has surprised them so agreeably ; but I am far from thinking that the 
difficulties will be arranged so very quickly, especially if the advice of 
those editors was to be followed. The British ministry have been pre- 
paring for a change of measures ; but the new policy they are adopting 
may be more dangerous than that of intimidation, which they have had 
to give up. — We must not forget the Ashburton treaty — coaxing, delay, 
bribery, intrigues, have often had more effect than cannon. The character 
of the press in the Atlantic cities is not calculated to keep us on the alert 
as to the danger of this new policy. The majority of the editors thereof may 
be divided into four classes : 1st — Those who are positively under British 
influence. 2nd — Those who care nothing for honour or country when 
the loss of a dollar is at stake. 3rd— Those who are connected with 



British commercial and financial interests. 4th — Those who are so much 
dazzled by the immense aggressive power of Great Britain, as not to 
perceive her loeak points. To the two first classes I have nothing to say — 
all arguments are useless ; but to those of the third and fourth class, and 
to that part of the community which may be under the influence of the 
same views, I will submit a few remarks for their consideration. It has 
been generally asserted that England does not recede, and that it was 
wrong for Mr. Polk to join issue with her on the subject of Oregon, as 
war must be the inevitable consequence. This observation was made by 
the editors of the third and fourth, as well as by those of the first and se- 
cond classes, in reference to the w^arlike demonstration made by both shades 
of the British Aristocracy, in April last, versus the opinion expressed by 
Mr. Polk, in his Inaugural, namely — that our title to the Oregon terri- 
tory was " clear and unquestionable." What has been the result so far.? 
The President, in his Message, claims officialli/ the whole of Oregon, 
and yet we have news from England that the Message has had a peacc- 
Jul tendency ! and, it is generally said and believed, that some overtures 
to renew the negotiations have been made by the British ministry. 1 do 
not suppose that they will recede altogether from their pretensions ; but, 
it must be admitted, that they have receded considerably in their tone. 
The abrupt change that has taken place, from hostile to pacific language 
towards this country, by the leading organ, the Times, is certainly re- 
markable. Well, in submitting the above remarks to the consideration 
of the third and fourth class of editors as aforesaid, I will thank them to 
answer candidly the following queries : — Do they believe that the organs 
of the British Aristocracy would have subdued so suddenly their language, 
after the receipt of the Message, if Ivlr.'' Polk had receded from the 
stand taken by the Inaugural : Do they believe, had this been the case, 
that better terms in favour of the United States would have been advo- 
cated by the Times, in three successive articles, which bear the stamp 
of being, at least, semi-official.' I expect that the general answer 
will be a frank NO ; at least, it will be so from those whose pa- 
triotism rises higher than private interest. And to all those who have 
so answered, I will remark, that we must, of course, continue the 
same policy that has produced that change in British feeling ; and, in 
order to do it effectually, Congress, without any further loss of time, 
ought to adopt i\\e four measures set forth in the preceding article, headed, 
■** The proper course to secure, peaceably, the whole of Oregon." 



New York, February 4th, 1S46. 
The Senate of tiie United States. 

The two houses of Congress have been in session about ten weeks ; 
what have they done } Numberless speeches have been made, but no 
legislation of any consequence has been accomplished. The great ma- 
jority of the people have made up their minds, loug ago, on ihe propriety 
of the measures recom.mended by the President, and on the vrgency of 
carrying them into immediate eft'ect ; and yet, those measures continue to 
be the subject of an endless debate, eliciting the most discordant and 
conflicting opinions. , 



44 

About the middle of December, General Cass, in a speech full of 
patriotism, urged on the Senate the propriety of an inquiry as to our 
means of defence, &c. ; but, in reviewing the whole ground of our anta- 
gonist position with England, he overshot the mark, by stating that Avar 
is nearly inevitable — that England never recedes^ and alarmed the timid, 
who thereupon made a great rally. On the 30th of December, Mr. Cal- 
houn " defines his position" — opposes the measures recommended by 
the President, under cover of taking his part against pretended implica- 
tions of Mr. Hannegan on the course of the President ; and, decidedly, Mr. 
Calhoun gave the cold shoulder to our claim on the Oregon territory. A 
few weeks afterwards, Mr. Benton opposes the bill increasing the steam 
navy : — first, if it was meant for a peace measure^ because the appropria- 
tion was too larqe ; second, if it was meant for a icar measure, because' 
it was too small. This is, truly, strange reasoning. It must strike any 
one, that a moderate appropriation for precautionary nvmamevAs, might 
secure peace, Avhich is the object in view by the advocates of the bill. 
And if, on the other hand, war was to come notwithstanding, it 
cannot be amiss to have ten steamers ready for action, for the simple 
reason, that if thirty or forty steamers become necessary, in case of war, 
it will, certainly, be sooner accomplished by having already /e« fitted out, 
than if we had none at all. 

At a time v/hen decision and unanimity in our councils become an ob- 
ject of the highest importance, it is really painful to see our leading 
Senators wasting their time and talents on such erratic courses. I hope, 
still, that the good sense and patriotism of a great majority of both parties 
in the Senate will see the necessity of great unanimity when the final 
vote will be taken on the Oregon measures ; but, in case those measures 
were to be defeated, I make bold to state, beforehand, some of the con- 
sequences that would ensue ; they would be the following: — 

1st.: — That this division in our councils would embolden the British 
Government to assume again a hostile attitude, which would be first felt 
by their exciting Mexico against us — by their increasing their naval 
forces on the stations bordering on our coasts — and apprehensions of war 
■would be the immediate result. 

2nd. — That the proper time to settle the Oregon question, according 
to the decisive, but conciliatory measures recommended in the preceding 
article, being thereby lost, the consequence would be, that it would re- 
main open until the next elections, when it would be found that the popu- 
lar vote would go for 54-40, which would render the settlement of the 
question more difficult. 

3rd. — That the Senators, whose influence would have thus defeated 
the Oregon measures, would forfeit, by so doing, the confidence of the 
nation. 

In conclusion, and in the warning voice of one who is entirely discon- 
nected with parly spirit — who looks only to the interest, the safety, and 
the good fame of the Republic — I cannot give up the jien without em- 
phatically recommending unanimily in voting in favour of the Oregon 
measures, as the most mighty iveapon that can be wielded by Congress. 
Let this POTENT WEAPox be properly applied, and there will be NO WAR I 

AN ADOPTED CITIZEN. 






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